The Governor-General says the Crown has repeatedly broken agreements laid out in the Treaty of Waitangi.
Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy at the State Opening of Parliament Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
She is holding a Waitangi Day garden reception at Government House in Wellington for hundreds of guests.
Politicians, local leaders and former governor generals are at the event hosted by the Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy.
Reddy said the Crown breached the Treaty of Waitangi numerous times and many of the issues raised by Māori since it was signed 181 years ago have still not been resolved.
But Patsy said during her term as the Queen's representative she has seen increased momentum for change.