Whare Māori, in Rātana. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
The Rātana movement says a new leadership is likely to be in place this year.
The outgoing and incoming prime ministers, the opposition leader and other politicians travelled to Rātana Pā yesterday to pitch their case to the Māori electorate.
But the movement itself is undergoing change.
It is 150 years today since Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana was born, the prophet who founded a movement for dispirited Māori in the early 20th century.
Their land stripped, their culture endangered, their faith tested - people flocked to his words in the 1920s and '30s, and the movement has endured ever since.
Its previous tumuaki, Harerangi Meihana, died last May, and there have been issues among the leadership over the last few years.
Politicians at Rātana Pā, including outgoing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wearing a korowai. Photo: Office of the Prime Minister
It was announced to crowds yesterday that a replacement has been picked by whānau, and the nomination is being taken to the church committee and the movement's 40,000 or so followers.
A Rātana Pā representative, Te Taepa Kameta, said he was confident things were being settled.
"It has been no secret, there has been some issues within the Church itself, but everybody is focused on moving forward with those issues and clearing the air."
Te Taepa Kameta said political leaders would come and go, but he was confident many more future leaders would be welcomed to Rātana.