Waitangi Day 2025: Pasifika and Māori strengthen ties amid political tensions

As Aotearoa New Zealand prepares to commemorate Waitangi Day this week, the role of Pacific communities in shaping the nation’s future alongside Māori takes centre stage.

Aupito William Sio, former minister and MP for Māngere, is among those leading efforts to deepen the relationship between Pacific people and tangata whenua.

“There's a lot that happens behind the scenes, and initially, I thought it was going to be really simple, but there's quite a bit of effort, particularly when we're getting visitors from overseas like the kaumatua of the House of Ariki,” Aupito said.

“I’m spending a bit of time with our youth speakers, just helping them to prepare because I want them to feel confident, I want them to feel good, and I want them to deliver a very powerful message because they are my symbols of our connection to Māori and Pasifika.”

One of the key initiatives this year is the inaugural pōwhiri for the Pacific General Assembly (PGA), organised by its Council of Chiefs.

Aupito says this event will continue to be held yearly during Waitangi festivities.

“We're relatively new, but our effort here is about learning and connecting better with Māori, learning about the true history of Māori.

“We're now calling Aotearoa New Zealand our home, and I think it's only appropriate that if we make Aotearoa New Zealand our home, then we need to better understand the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, the struggles and the challenges that they have experienced, and particularly also all the political rhetoric that's happening around the Treaty of Waitangi.”

According to the 2023 Census, Pacific people make up 8.9 per cent of New Zealand’s total population, with a median age of 25.

The Pacific community has grown at about twice the rate of the overall New Zealand population.

Preparations are underway for Waitangi Day this week. Photo/Joseph Safiti

A united stance on Te Tiriti

Aupito emphasised the need for a stronger commitment from Pacific people to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi, The Treaty of Waitangi.

“I'm putting a stake on the ground and saying Tangata Moana and Pasifika will be supporting Te Tiriti o Waitangi and supporting Māori in Aotearoa.”

One of the most anticipated aspects of the PGA pōwhiri for Aupito is the involvement of young Pacific speakers. This aligns with this year’s Waitangi Day theme, ‘Ka Hao Te Rangatahi,’ which translates to ‘the new generation of leaders’.

“We've been talking to the Ngāpuhi elders about all of this. I haven't invited the whole Pacific community, and obviously, this is the first [pōwhiri] of many to come.

“But I want to set the scene and set the foundation for how we work better together with Ngāpuhi and how we set the scene to work better together with all of Māori across Aotearoa, New Zealand. And that's going to take time.”

Watch Aupito William Sio speak to PMN News ahead of the PGA's pōwhiri.

Beyond Waitangi, Aupito highlighted the broader role of indigenous leadership in the Pacific.

He referenced the late Māori King Tuheitia’s powerful statements about environmental issues and the cultural recognition of whales as beings.

“And I think those experiences and those voices are gonna be critical in the Pacific region, particularly when you see what's going on, the geo-strategic movement that's happening in the region, our region, our hub.”

Aupito expressed concern over recent political actions: “The President of the United States has pulled the United States out of the World Health Organisation. Turmoil has been created there because they're shooting themselves in the foot.

Members of the Pacific General Assembly were welcomed onto Rawhitiroa Marae in Northland. Photo/Ala Vailala

“President Trump's also pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement. That's a critical existential issue for us in the Pacific region.

“I'm going to be encouraging and supporting the Māori Queen to follow the footsteps of her father and to provide that voice in the region and to unite the traditional leaders.

“I do this because I think, having experienced politics in my lifetime, there are some things that politicians can do and governments of the day can do, but ultimately governments come and go.”

Ōnuku Marae to host Ngāi Tahu commemorations

Waitangi Day 2025 will also feature important commemorations at Ōnuku Marae in Canterbury.

Photo/Joseph Safiti

The event, Hui Whakaū I Te Tiriti, will attract hundreds, including the Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, members of Parliament, and local government leaders.

Ōnuku Rūnanga Chairperson Rik Tainui highlighted the importance of hosting this event at a historic site where Te Tiriti was first signed within Ngāi Tahu takiwā in 1840.

"This is a significant event for our hapū and iwi, and we’re looking forward to opening our whare to the community to commemorate this important day."

Political absence sparks debate

Aupito says the absence of the Prime Minister at Waitangi is a missed opportunity.

Aupito William Sio and Christopher Luxon with WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr Saia Piukala, at last year's PIF Leaders Meeting in Tonga. Photo/Joseph Safiti

“I understand what he's saying, but I think he's missed an opportunity to front up to the Māoridom, to front up to Waitangi, to front up to Ngā Puhi because this particular event sets the scene for how the year will be.

“His absence sends a message and it's not a very good message to Māori.”

He urged the Prime Minister to consider attending Waitangi, saying, “The visit to the South Island is all done, and it's not like he can't afford to talk to the Minister of Defence have a helicopter available to fly him over here.

“I think if he turned up [to Waitangi] that'll be a very good sign to the elders of Ngāpuhi and to Māoridom that he's serious about what he says.”