Early 1970s: Protest

1971 was the United Nations year for the elimination of racial discrimination, and there was talk among Maori of an appeal to the UN. Waitangi ceremonies were disrupted by incidents organised by the Auckland-based group Nga Tamatoa; the following year Nga Tamatoa staged a walk-out.

The gap to be bridged in mutual understanding can be gauged by the Governor-General's ill-chosen comments: 'I just do not believe that racism or discrimination exists in this country', said Sir Arthur Porritt, who considered that Maori-Pakeha relationships were being dealt with adequately through intermarriage.

Continuing protest owed much to the activities of new urban-based groups and organisations, mainly centred in Auckland and influenced by the university's Maori Studies department. At the same time long-established Maori organisations were challenging the government through submissions critical of the country's failure to give effect to treaty rights. Events outside New Zealand were influential too. Strategies were learned from the struggles of indigenous groups elsewhere, notably in Canada and the United States. Other factors stiffened resolve: the post-colonial independence of new nations, the Black Power movement in the United States, and United Nations work on human rights.