Te Pāti Māori is calling out the deep hypocrisy of a government that insists on sovereign trade relationships while denying them to our Pacific whanaunga.

While Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is in China forging trade agreements with Māori exporters, he is punishing the Cook Islands for doing the same.

"This is not about diplomacy, it’s about control. This government is using funding as a weapon against one of our closest whanaunga for exercising its own sovereignty” Te Pāti Māori Co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

“The Cook Islands has a unique free association agreement with New Zealand. While they’re self-governing, New Zealand provides defence and foreign affairs assistance when requested. Yet this aid relationship is now being weaponised as a tool of political obedience.

"As Māori, our whakapapa binds us to the peoples of Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa. Our relationship with the Cook Islands is not one of dominance, it's one of shared ancestry, migration, and struggle. What this government is doing violates that sacred connection” said Ngarewa-Packer.

Te Pāti Māori demands the government immediately reinstate the funding to the Cook Islands and publicly reaffirm its commitment to genuine free association and respectful relationships that treat each other as equals.

© Scoop Media