Waitangi Day 2025: Dawn ceremony begins after lively Parliament pōwhiri
Waitangi Day’s dawn ceremony is underway at the majestic Treaty Grounds following a lively and at times fiery Parliament pōwhiri yesterday.
The ceremony at the Te Whare Rūnanga meeting house will include readings from politicians and other leaders, as well as waiata.
Normally the Prime Minister would participate but given Christopher Luxon was absent from Waitangi this year, it’s unclear whether Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will take his place.
Following that, a flag-raising ceremony will be conducted before a small public breakfast is made available. A youth choir will then perform, followed by the traditional inter-denominational church service and a waka parade.
Story continues after live blog
Story continues
The dawn ceremony is traditionally an apolitical event – a far cry from yesterday’s scenes that included Act leader David Seymour having his microphone twice removed while speaking and New Zealand First Minister Shane Jones suggesting the Government shouldn’t commit further funding to the Waitangi National Trust due to the “circus” pōwhiri it hosted.
Seymour’s speech, which appeared more combative than his previous addresses at Waitangi, provoked a crowd of protesters who had turned their back on the Act leader in a sign of opposition to his policies.
As Seymour accused his critics of “pouring poison” in the ears of young people, Ngātiwai leader Aperahama Edwards twice took away his microphone before it was quickly replaced each time by Ngāti Hine’s Waihoroi Shortland.
That interaction, together with an impassioned challenge by Ngāpuhi warriors to Seymour, led Jones to tell reporters he had lost enthusiasm for seeing more Government funding go to the Waitangi National Trust, which organised the annual festivities.
Trust board chairman Pita Tipene told the Herald Jones’ comments were “very unfortunate” and was seeking an audience with the NZ First minister to discuss the matter.
Live coverage of Waitangi’s Dawn Service provided by Whakaata Māori
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.