ACT leader David Seymour has taken aim at the Green Party's stance on Te Pāti Māori's racial comments ahead of the Coalition Government's Budget being released on Thursday.
Te Pāti Māori's Rawiri Waititi has been slamming what he calls a "Pākehā" and "white" Government in both media interviews and on social media.
On Wednesday, AM host Lloyd Burr questioned whether Waititi's "Pākehā Government" comments about the Coalition was "fuelling a racial divide".
The Te Pāti Māori co-leader made the comments while speaking to reporters on Tuesday, discussing plans for Budget Day protests.
Waititi then doubled down on those comments on Wednesday night in a video posted online.
The party co-leader filmed National MPs having a meeting through a window from his office, with the caption: "Cabinet meeting before they announce their white budget for their white economy!"
He's also heard on the video pointing out several MPs, then saying: "They're probably talking about their white budget for their white economy, look at that."
Te Pāti Māori declined to come on AM after Burr called Waititi out over his comments on Wednesday's show.
However, Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson and ACT leader David Seymour shared their take on his comments.
Davidson told AM she "can't answer for Te Pāti Māori", but added that this Coalition was "one of the most anti-Māori and anti-Tiriti Governments we've ever seen".
When she was pressed specifically on the comments made by Waititi about a "white Government", Seymour cut in to ask: "How hard is it to call out racism?"
The two went back and forth, as Davidson claimed she called out racism every day.
"The point of what many people are feeling is that this is the most anti-Māori and anti-Tiriti Government and that is something that the Greens are listening to and supporting," she said.
When asked his view, Seymour called out Davidson again.
"I can't believe it's so hard for Marama Davidson and the Green Party to say that that is wrong. It is the wrong way to go about any particular issue."
He noted that the Government had a Cabinet of 20, and among those who are Māori are Shane Reti, Tama Potaka, Nicole McKee, Winston Peters, Shane Jones, Casey Costello and himself. Karen Chhour is not in Cabinet but is also a Māori Minister.
"They say that 20 percent of New Zealand is Māori, actually 40 percent of the Cabinet is Māori so they're wrong about the most basic fact," Seymour said.
"But more importantly, it shouldn't matter because human beings, all of us, have 99.9 percent the same DNA and what I'm absolutely sick of is people focusing on that point one percent difference, and especially zeroing in on the racial part of that to try to divide us."
Seymour said when ACT was in opposition the party constantly put out ideas to try better New Zealand, but in comparison Te Pāti Māori only put out "racial division".
He called on the media to call out the party's racial division too, saying there was a "double standard".
"Good on you Lloyd for doing it but if journalists want to regain the trust of New Zealand, and it has plummeted in the last four years from 55 percent to 33, then more journalists need to do what you're doing in actually calling it out."
But Davidson said the 26 protests around Aotearoa on Thursday, including one outside Parliament in Wellington, were not just about Budget Day.
"We have seen this Government wind back a Māori Health Authority that was supposed to help address the injustices and the inequities that Māori have been facing for nearly 200 years now," she said.
"They are winding back legislation mentions of Te Titiri which, for example Oranga Tamariki was finally starting to rebuild some trust between whānau and communities who are Māori and an agency that has caused intergenerational violence and harm, particularly to Māori children, and the Treaty principles in that legislation were finally starting to heal and allow for Government to work with Māori communities for keeping children safe.
"They have wound back smoking legislation, including kaupapa Māori smoking legislation, because that is where the disproportionate representation of smoking is with Māori.
"Winding all of that really targeted work, which has to be seen in the long-term, absolutely is anti-Tiriti, is anti-Māori… people are protesting those changes."
