Te Pāti Maori MP Tākuta Ferris, in ceremonial garb, has sworn allegiance to Mokopuna under Te Tiriti o Waitangi before also swearing allegiance to the King. The first MP from the party to be called, he was accompanied by a karanga. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
On Parliament’s black and white tiles sits one of the building’s many pieces of art. The bust of Āpirana Ngata, commissioned in 1942, watches over the day-to-day frenzy of bridge runs and general parliamentary busyness.
The bust, like so many pieces in Parliament’s collection, pays tribute to the work of a highly eulogised individual who once walked the halls of power.
What makes it especially unique though, is that it’s one of the few visual signs of te ao Māori at Parliament - albeit a more diverse and representative parliament than existed in the days of Ngata. Yet the edifice is still strikingly colonial.
This week on The House, we kōrero with three first-term Māori MPs who share their personal experiences of navigating Parliament and being Māori. To listen, click the link below.
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Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
“A shrine to colonialism”: Te Pāti Māori’s Tākuta Ferris
As we stood outside the marble Edwardian baroque facade of Parliament House, MP for Te Tai Tonga, Tākuta Ferris forthrightly described the building as, “a shrine to colonialism.”
Ferris is unflinching in the furtherance of Te ao Māori, something Te Pāti Māori have become well known for this term in Parliament.
The MP attributes the unprecedented engagement levels that Te Pāti Māori have received to the hard work of previous generations of Te iwi Māori, and a deep understanding of history. “We arrive here fully equipped with all of that. The constitutional foundation that sets this whole parliament up, allows this parliament to be here, is a two-party agreement. It's a two-party relationship.”
Ferris envisions Parliament one day being a lot more representative of this relationship, both structurally, and aesthetically.
The former, he says, “can be in the model that Whatarangi Winiata and many others of Te iwi Māori proposed through the through the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s, which is the two House model; where, in effect, you have a House that represents the Crown (and the government is just the executive administrator of the crown).”
The latter he says, somewhat flippantly, “would look a lot flasher.”
David Macleod was elected in 2023. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
The Politics of Māori Identity: David Macleod
Te Pati Māori (and opposition Māori MPs more generally), have been vocal in their opposition to the coalition government's policies. This has manifested as hostility in the House, protests outside it, and a steady stream of news headlines.
The House was curious to hear from a Māori governing-party MP about what it's like being on the other side of the House during all this.
National MP for New Plymouth, David MacLeod was, before politics, a major player in Taranaki, business and governance worlds, where he says he “thrived”. But how does being Māori in those worlds compare to being Māori in Parliament?
He says, “we often have a conversation [about] whether a person's Māori enough or not. I haven't concluded in my thought process whether that's actually appropriate. Because a person of Māori affiliation and Māori blood isn’t fluent in te reo, hasn’t been brought up on the marae, hasn’t been extensively involved, does that eliminate them from being able to be included in the conversation of things Māori?”
MacLeod says the National Party wants to be “as good as they can in that space.” He credits Minister for Māori Affairs Tama Potaka’s proactivity in advancing National’s cultural knowledge; with the inclusion of weekly sessions where members get to learn about tikanga, te reo, and waiata.
Labour Party MP Cushla Tangare-Manuel in select committee. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
Bridging worlds: Cushla Tangaere-Manuel
MP for Ikaroa Rawhiti, Labour's Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, says she takes inspiration from Ngata’s approach to maintaining values and traditions, while also embracing the modern world.
“The image in this building that makes me feel empowered and humbled, and, you know, really reflect on the privilege it is to be here is the bust of Ngata. When I first saw that I realised Apirana used to walk around here.”
On the topic of imagery at Parliament, Tangaere-Manuel suggests that perhaps to anyone, not just Māori, the building doesn’t resonate with the average New Zealander.
“It's not just Māori who find that foreign, as you've acknowledged, most people go ‘oh my gosh’, you know, it's noticeable. But what's also noticeable is the amount of Māori faces we see in the House. More and more increasing. I'm noticing more staff. Moko kauae are not out of place in this House anymore.”