The Governor General and Prime Minister John Key have both confirmed that they will not be present on Te Tii Marae for Waitangi celebrations tomorrow, as Waitangi Day is a public holiday, and they are entitled to take it off.
Key was welcomed onto the marae today, accompanied by Titewhai Harawira, and has met this afternoon with the Iwi Chairs Forum, where an agreement over fresh water rights was discussed.
While at the forum, Key promised he would be there “well into the evening,” but he also attempted to make clear to everybody that this was “one day only.”
“As you know, tomorrow is Waitangi Day, and this is sort of, you know, this is work for me, so I won’t be here,” he said, smiling.
“Will you guys be here or are you just going to flag?” he asked. There was silence.
“Okay, cool.”
As Key mingled in Paihia today, smiling and waving at passers-by, he was largely ignored.
“Fuck you!” yelled one Ngapuhi protestor at the Prime Minister, in what was one of the nicer things said to him this afternoon.
“Hello!” Key yelled back, a grin plastered across his face. “Nice to meet you!”
One protestor threw a golf ball at the Prime Minister, which hit him squarely in the eye. But Key thanked the young man, polishing off the golf ball, and placing it in his pocket.
“That’s lovely, I could use that,” he remarked to Harawira.
Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell said he was “disappointed” that Key made the decision not to be in Waitangi tomorrow, “but after seeing him today, maybe, you know, it’s for the best.”
“He’s literally six metres away from me right now,” said Flavell, looking around to make sure Key wasn’t quite in earshot, “just sitting on a chair, talking to himself.”
Key only spoke to media late this afternoon, when he told them he was having a “great time” at Waitangi and was most looking forward to “the haka.”
Governor General Jerry Mateparae was not available for comment on his own decision to take Waitangi Day off, but the Prime Minister offered an explanation for him.
“Look, I think he feels much like I do,” said Key. “You don’t get many days off a year, and you know, this is a public holiday, it’s a long weekend. So instead of coming out here to Paihia we decided we’re just going to embrace what these sorts of holidays are really all about: sitting at home and playing computer games.”