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Helen Houghton
Conservative Party leader
Oriini Kaipara stated that she stood in the House “not as a survivor of colonisation who made it in a Pākehā system, but as the product of Māori resistance”.
For many New Zealanders, the message behind Kaipara’s speech rang less as a call for inclusion and more as a rejection of the shared national journey that unites us.
New Zealand in 2025 is a country enriched by many cultures: Māori, Pākehā, Pasifika, Asian and countless others bound together by mutual respect and a shared future. It is time our leaders reflected that unity, not division.
By framing her success as a triumph of “resistance”, rather than cooperation and progress, Kaipara risks entrenching an outdated narrative of grievance. While colonisation is undeniably part of our history, it should no longer define our national identity nor dictate the tone of our politics. The generations that built today’s New Zealand Māori and non-Māori alike have achieved far more through partnership than protest.
At a time when the country faces real challenges from economic strain to social fragmentation, speeches that reopen old wounds do little to move us forward. Parliament should be a place where leaders inspire all New Zealanders, not just those of one heritage or ideology.
As leader of the Conservative Party, I find it shameful, even ugly, to hear such divisive rhetoric from a member of parliament who should be uniting our people, not driving us apart.
The scenes of division in the chamber are a reminder of how fragile unity can be when rhetoric turns inward. New Zealand deserves leadership that looks beyond the past and speaks to the nation we have become: One people, many cultures – moving together toward a shared future.
