After a cryptic social media campaign on Sunday night, Toitū Te Tiriti organisers have confirmed calls for all Māori and Tangata Tiriti to go on strike this Thursday, May 30.
The strike, which coincides with the announcement of the government’s budget, is intended to “prove the might of [the Māori] economy by disconnecting entirely from it”.
Rallies and hīkoi will be organised across the motu, with viewers of the post invited to reach out to activist collective @toitu_te_tiriti if they wish to organise an activation in their area.
Te Ao Māori News understands locations will be announced at 9pm tonight.
The protest, a follow-up of Te Pāti Māori’s Day of National Action in December last year, is a direct response to the policies of the coalition government, many of which have been panned as “anti-Māori” and an “attack” on Māori.
Such policies included the repeal of Smokefree 2025 laws, co-governance and Te Tiriti o Waitangi but the list of policies facing this criticism has swollen to include the repeal of section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act, the Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and the Treaty Principles Bill.
Earlier
A message seen by Te Ao Māori News explained that coordinators had been appointed across the motu, and a social media campaign would be led by Eru Kapa-Kingi, the son of Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, who was himself ninth on the party’s list in the 2023 general election.
The message also laid out the kaupapa of the activation:
- “demonstrating a unified Aotearoa response to the government’s assault on tangata whenua and Te Tiriti o Waitangi”;
- “demonstrating the might of tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti working together”;
- “the revolution of Gen-T (Generation Tiriti) standing up for and protecting the rights of all of our mokopuna”; and
- “asserting the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as enduring and everlasting.”
Finally, the message called for peaceful, respectful, mokopuna-focused and friendly behaviour with good wairua.