Things came to a stop in Wellington CBD on Tuesday as te Hīkoi mō te Tiriti came to town on the final leg of the journey to Parliament. The hīkoi (a walk or march) had started in Northland and wound its way down the North Island, ending in Wellington. As I mentioned on Monday, some of you may well be aware of some of the issues being raised in Parliament at the moment. The Treaty Principles Bill attracted international attention after the haka led by Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke went viral, but there is a lot behind her actions.
Rather than explain things, probably badly, here are some links you can follow to learn more:
- CNN’s view which explains the basics quite well.
- Yesterday evening on Radio New Zealand
- Foreign media reaction (there was even a small demonstration outside the New Zealand High Commission in London)
- After the hikoi
Instead, here are pictures I took from above and on the street.
The video below gives a better idea – hope you can play it.
It was an amazing thing to see and experience, peaceful, calm and hopefully got the point across of what people think.
I found this banner amusing – the Prime Minister is Christopher Luxon. The second video was taken at street level.
The final picture was taken by Karl from an upper floor in the building he works in, looking down on the crowds gathering at the Beehive (Parliament).
Entered in Wednesday’s Words and Whimsy hosted by Sue and Deb.
Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis.