The Ardern Aftermath
Maori take to streets as rights now threatened
New Zealand’s Conservative coalition are suddenly rolling back on Maori programs and policies. What’s driving the desire to wind back the status of the Maori?
“The only thing that we can compare it with was the initial colonisation that happened in the 1800s”, argues Maori Co-Leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. This year, the NZ government has abolished the Maori Health Authority, diminished the Maori language and repealed Maori environmental laws. There are fears the bill could completely erase the special status of Māori, who make up one-fifth of New Zealand's population. As the government look to repeal the 180-year-old Treaty, NZ’s youngest MP Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke asks: “why do we beat to their drum?”
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