Labour MP Kelvin Davis says the government shouldn't be shocked by a decision not to welcome them to Waitangi if the TPP is signed. The call came from Te Tii Marae spokesperson Kingi Taurua.
Kelvin Davis says the issue of whether or not to welcome Prime Minister John Key and his entourage onto Te Tii Waitangi Marae needs to be addressed.
He says, "I think Kingi and others feel this way because the government hasn't been truthful over the issue of the TPPA. The Crown have not consulted with Māori over the TPPA hence why Māori have been kept in the dark and no one know what's in it."
Kingi Taurua says the TPPA will undermine the sacred covenants signed by Māori chiefs at Waitangi.
"It's been said that in years to come large corporations will take over this country and that's my concern because the Tiriti o Waitangi and the 1835 Declaration of Independence will be undermined and lost like the moa," explains Taurua.
There's no doubt political issues such as the TPPA will be discussed at Waitangi.
But Taurua says his concern is the TPPA could be signed before the government arrives at Waitangi, "When that's done they come to Waitangi on February 5 and I pose the question what are they coming for? Is it to rub salt into Ngāpuhi wounds perhaps that's it. I don't agree that they should come onto our marae like that and its and issue that all of Ngāpuhi need to deliberate over."
"I say to the government not to be shocked over the stance Kingi Taurua is taking and to inform us on the pros and cons and positives and negatives of the deal," says Davis.
