Te Pāti Māori welcomes the announcement of ‘Ban Conversion Therapy’ Bill 🏳️‍🌈 - Te Pāti Māori

Te Pāti Māori welcomes the announcement of ‘Ban Conversion Therapy’ Bill 🏳️‍🌈

Today the government has announced the proposed legislation to prohibit conversion practices, which confirms the intention to ban conversion therapy in Aotearoa.

“Te Paati Māori whole heartedly support and welcome this much needed and overdue announcement. We will always support whānau to be who they are, and conversion therapy, which tries to stop takatāpui from being who they are, has no place in Aotearoa.
“Te Ao Maori has always celebrated our diverse gender and sexual identities. It was colonisation that started criminalising and oppressing people for being who they are, turning us against our own whānau” said Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

“Banning conversion therapy is a necessary step in addressing the larger issue of the dire state of our mental health system in Aotearoa. Many of our mental health services are rooted in harmful colonial values that hurt our people, especially our Takatāpui whānau.
“We oppose any and all harmful colonial practices that serve to assimilate our people rather than heal, and cause our whānau to feel shame and guilt for being who they are. This is a momentous bill which puts us one step closer to an Aotearoa hou, where tangata whenua and tangata tiriti feel empowered and proud” said co-leader Rawiri Waititi.

“We acknowledge the work of Minister Faafoi for this kaupapa, and we encourage the government to go further in implementing legislative changes which support the rights and aspirations of takatāpui and the LGBTQI+ community” said Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

We are sending a big mihi to all of the grassroots organisers and roopu who have been fighting hard and doing the mahi to make this change happen

Education Should be Led by Experts-Not Economists preview image

Education Should be Led by Experts-Not Economists

Te Pāti Māori are appalled by Cabinet's decision to agree to 15 recommendations to the Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector following the regulatory review by the Ministry of Regulation. We emphasise the need to prioritise tamariki Māori in Early Childhood Education, conducted by education experts- not economists. “Our mokopuna deserve an education system shaped by their needs - and that must be led by the total immersion Māori education sector,” said Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for education, Tākuta Ferris. “Research shows that a strong sense of identity is central to the success of tamariki Māori. Instead of defunding key programmes and continuing to allocate just 1% of total education funding to Māori education, the government should be investing in the Māori educational systems that are already delivering for our tamariki.

Ka mate te Pire- Ka ora te mana o Te Tiriti o Waitangi me te iwi Māori preview image

Ka mate te Pire- Ka ora te mana o Te Tiriti o Waitangi me te iwi Māori

Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting the very institution that tried to rewrite our founding covenant. “But today, we celebrate. Today belongs to Aotearoa. “This movement was not led by politicians. It was led by the people.

Te Pāti Māori Urges Governor-General to Block Repeal of 7AA preview image

Te Pāti Māori Urges Governor-General to Block Repeal of 7AA

Today, the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading, but there is one more stage before it becomes law. The Governor-General must give their ‘Royal assent’ for any bill to become legally enforceable. This means that, even if a bill gets voted through all stages in Parliament, the Governor-General has the power to block it. Te Pāti Māori Co-Leaders, Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, have sent a letter to the Governor-General urging her to block the repeal of Section 7AA because it is a serious threat to the lives of our mokopuna.

Te Pāti Māori MPs Denied Fundamental Rights in Privileges Committee Hearing preview image

Te Pāti Māori MPs Denied Fundamental Rights in Privileges Committee Hearing

The Privileges Committee has denied fundamental rights to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, breaching their own standing orders, breaching principles of natural justice, and highlighting systemic prejudice and discrimination within our parliamentary processes. The three MPs were summoned to the privileges committee following their performance of a haka during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill. Their haka, rooted in cultural expression, has been unjustly branded as "disruptive and disorderly." This characterisation undermines the significance of tikanga and highlights the ongoing marginalisation of te iwi Māori within the parliamentary system. Despite requests for a fair hearing, the Committee has denied key legal rights, including: Joint Hearing Denied: The MPs' request for a joint session was rejected, despite the collective nature of the incident. Legal Representation Restricted: The Committee has prevented counsel from making essential submissions on tikanga, pivotal to understanding the MPs' actions. Expert Testimony Excluded: The Committee refused to hear from Tā Pou Temara, an expert on tikanga Māori, undermining the MPs' defence. Scheduling Conflicts Ignored: The hearing date was set without accommodating the MPs' schedules or their choice of senior counsel, Christopher Finlayson KC. Double Jeopardy Concerns: Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, already sanctioned in the House for her involvement, faces repeated proceedings.

Te Pāti Māori Call for Mandatory Police Body Cameras preview image

Te Pāti Māori Call for Mandatory Police Body Cameras

In recent weeks, disturbing instances of state-sanctioned violence against Māori have shed light on the systemic racism permeating our institutions. An 11-year-old autistic Māori child was forcibly medicated at the Henry Bennett Centre, a 15-year-old had his jaw broken by police in Napier, kaumātua Dean Wickliffe went on a hunger strike after being beaten by prison guards, and Sam Matue who was tasered and pepper-sprayed before becoming unresponsive and being pronounced dead at the scene. This is what Crown violence looks like in 2025. This violence could have been prevented with mandatory police body cameras. "Māori are being subjected to abuse, and pushed into silence,” said Te Pāti Māori Spokesperson for Mental Health, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke.

Stand Up for Palestine: A Call to Action Against Israels Treacherous Attack preview image

Stand Up for Palestine: A Call to Action Against Israels Treacherous Attack

At 2.30am local time, Israel launched a treacherous attack on Gaza killing more than 300 defenceless civilians while they slept. Many of them were children. This followed a more than 2 week-long blockade by Israel on the entry of all goods and aid into Gaza. Israel deliberately targeted densely populated areas, schools, homes, and shelters for displaced people in the middle of a ceasefire. Donald Trump, who claims credit for the ceasefire, was consulted ahead of this attack. Neither Israel nor the United States have provided any justification for their actions. “This was a clearly premeditated act of terrorism on people who are trying to piece their shattered lives back together during ceasefire,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader and Human Rights spokesperson Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

20 Years of Success Down the Drain: Govt Gut Whānau Ora preview image

20 Years of Success Down the Drain: Govt Gut Whānau Ora

Te Pāti Māori extends our deepest aroha to the 500 plus Whānau Ora workers who have been advised today that the govt will be dismantling their contracts. For twenty years , Whānau Ora has been helping families, delivering life-changing support through a kaupapa Māori approach. It has built trust where the government has failed, reached into homes where the system has ignored, and provided solutions that work for our people.

Good Riddance: Prebble Resigns from Waitangi Tribunal preview image

Good Riddance: Prebble Resigns from Waitangi Tribunal

Te Pāti Māori welcomes the resignation of Richard Prebble from the Waitangi Tribunal. His appointment in October 2024 was a disgrace- another example of this government undermining Te Tiriti o Waitangi by appointing a former ACT leader who has spent his career attacking Māori rights. “Regardless of the reason for his exit, Prebble was never fit to sit on the Waitangi Tribunal. His record speaks for itself- decades of bigotry and opposition to Māori self-determination,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Rawiri Waititi. “Prebble thinks that Hobson’s pledge has more mana than the Māori text of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, he apparently did not read any tribunal reports until after he was appointed, and he was surprised to find out that Māori did not cede sovereignty.

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi Enters Members Bill to Establish Mokopuna Māori Authority preview image

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi Enters Members Bill to Establish Mokopuna Māori Authority

Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. "This authority will be the primary national agency that ensures the care and protection for mokopuna and tamariki Māori, prioritising whakapapa because whānau know what is best for their own mokopuna, not the state," said Te Pāti Māori Spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.

Our Tamariki Deserve Better than Seymour’s Slop preview image

Our Tamariki Deserve Better than Seymour’s Slop

Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Education Tākuta Ferris. “Many tamariki rely on these meals as their only nourishment of the day, it is disgraceful that the government has put the wellbeing of their books over the wellbeing of our mokopuna. “David Seymour may as well have cut the program entirely instead of insulting our tamariki with this slop.