New Zealand’s Indigenous protesters caused severe traffic delays in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, on Thursday. The opposition party Te Pati Māori and Indigenous activist groups initiated the protest against the government’s proposed budget, which allegedly compromises the country’s ability to protect Indigenous rights.
The new budget announced on the same day includes significant cuts to Māori resources, including the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority) and reduced funding for Māori housing. Teanau Tuiono, a spokesperson for the Green Party, expressed disappointment, stating, “I can summarise this Budget in one word: pathetic,” in a press release.
Te Pati Māori spearheaded the protest along with Indigenous group Toitū Te Tiriti (Honour the Treaty), calling for Māori people to go on strike for the day and “disconnect” from the economy. The group called for action on social media, stating the intent was to “demonstrate the beginning of a unified Aotearoa response to the Government’s assault on tangata whenua and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.” Te Pati Māori has previously expressed concerns over several policies of the recently elected government in October, focusing on their impact on the Māori population and their rights under Te Tiriti O Waitangi, the nation’s foundational document.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed his resistance to the protests, stating that it would be illegal for Māori and non-Māori allies to boycott work in support of Indigenous rights. Police Minister Mark Mitchell also said, “My expectations are that law-abiding Kiwis going about their daily business, their rights are protected above those who choose to break the law.”
Shane Jones, the Deputy Leader of New Zealand First, told local media that asking whānau (family) to go on strike for a day was “mad,” comparing the strategy by Te Pāti Māori and Toitū Te Tiriti to a Black Lives Matter campaign and noting that “not many of our whānau can afford to give up $200-$300 to take a day’s strike.”
New Zealand Transport Agency reported on X that the traffic and delays from the protests have since cleared.
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