Rugby : Amid a Haka call, a reference to a 1840 treaty and a call to unify New Zealand

The bill tabled by the right-libertarian ACT Party, a part of the coalition government with National Party and New Zealand First, aims to redefine the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi with an aim to offer the citizens a referendum to narrowly define the treaty’s principles in legal documents as reported by news.com.au. The opposition to the bill has been to the bill’s proposed education and other programs for Maori citizens. Post the match, Perenara spoke about the first line meaning the haka is for everyone in Aotearoa and his intent to unite everyone in the country.

The Haka under the lights, led by TJ Perenara 🤩#AutumnNationsSeries | #ITAvNZL pic.twitter.com/E0tSHuaXJ9

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 23, 2024

“This haka is for everyone in Aotearoa. We’ve been away from home and seen the unity and the unification of our people back home, all people of Aotearoa and paying homage to us as people, and showing unification together as one. And like us, countries go through tough times. People go through tough times, families go through tough times. And for us to pay homage to the unification of all of us is something that we wanted to do and that we wanted to do, which was important,” Perenara said after the match.

But with the All Blacks Social media accounts deleting the video of the Haka from all its social media accounts, it has led to discontent in rugby circles. “All Blacks are erasing the beginning of this haka where TJ says “toitū te mana o te whenua, toitū te mana motuhake, toitū Te Tiriti o Waitangi” – a great example of how corporations are happy to commercialise te ao Māori while erasing Māori political aspirations.” Aotearoa Liberation League, a social programme for the rights of Maori, posted on X.

Perenara also clarified on the first line of the Haka and termed it as everyone’s sovereignty. “Stand and pay respect to our whenua (country), which is our whenua, mana motuhake, which is our sovereignty, everyone’s sovereignty. Te Tiriti o Waitangi, stand tall, stand proud and stand on Te Tiriti o Waitangi. So uniting us all as people. I know some people might see or try and make it political or divisive, but for us, unity and being together is important, especially as Maori.” The player explained further.

Perenara also drew praise from coach Scott Robertson and skipper Scott Barrett. While Barrett shared that the team was aware and supportive, Robertson supported the move to include Perenara’s own words in the Haka.

“TJ when he got the right to call (the haka), there’s a part of it at the start he gets in his own words to call it. And he’s decided to say that and he has done it with the aspect of unity. It’s his right to say that. He said it’s a sign of unity. Everyone is across it. He gets his chance to call that and the rest of the team gets to do the haka.” said the coach.

ACT leader David Seymour has urged the player to read the bill. “I congratulate TJ on his long All Blacks career and wish him well in Japan. I hope he reads the bill at treaty.nz. It says that we all have nga tikanga katoa rite tahi – the same rights and duties. And all New Zealanders have tino rangatiratanga, the right to self-determine, not only Māori,” said Seymour as reported by World Wide of Sports.

Former New Zealand Rugby Black Fern player and Labour MP Louisa Wall supported the move to unite the Maori and the country. She also criticised the move to exclude the video from All Blacks’s social media accounts. “The whole institution of the All Blacks supported what he did, and what I’m hoping is that that the institution of New Zealand Rugby supports what they have done in using their voice on the international stage. The haka has been around since 1888 and has been performed by the All Blacks since 1905, and I don’t know in the history of us performing that haka whether it’s been censored before.” Wall told Midday Report.