A New Initiative Is Calling For The Māori Flag To Be Flown Year-Round On The Auckland Harbour Bridge

When have we ever let Australia get to something first? We invented pavlova first, received the Michelin Guide first, and even see the sun first. So, why have we let our neighbours across the Tasman beat us at recognising their cultural heritage on their most-photographed piece of infrastructure? That’s the question asked by The Flag Poll this year.

There is just one day a year when the Tino Rangatiratanga flag is flown on Auckland’s harbour bridge, and that’s on Waitangi Day. On February 7 the flag comes down and stays that way for the other 364 days of the year. The Flag Poll asks for 80,000 Kiwis to a sign a petition requesting that the government raise the flag on Waitangi Day 2027 and keep it there permanently.

It shouldn’t have to be the case, but there’s a precedent for it. In Sydney, the Aboriginal flag has been flying permanently since 2022. It took five years of campaigning by Kamilaroi woman Cheree Toka and 170,000 signatures on a petition to finally get the NSW government to raise the flag in Sydney.

To have it fly permanently in Tāmaki Makaurau would be an acknowledgement of the importance of Te Tiriti to the fabric of modern day New Zealand, and the heritage of the land on which we all live. The idea is that having both flags flying side by side presents an optimistic vision for the future of New Zealand; one where the country honours its heritage, and celebrates its future.

Image Credit: The Flag Poll | Supplied

The campaign is fronted by Linda Munn, the Tino Rangatiratanga flag’s last living designer, the students of kaupapa-Māori grounded Tipene St Stephens School, the Te Poho o Hinekahukura kapa haka group, Te Aroha Grace (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei), and Shit You Should Care About founder Lucy Blakiston.

The Tino Rangatiratanga flag was designed in 1989 for the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi as a symbol of Māori identity and independence and in response to treaty breaches that had been occurring—a fitting era to look back to at a time when Te Tiriti has been debated a number of times in government recently.

“When we designed the flag 38 years ago, it was about having our own unique symbol that reflected who we are as Māori,” explains Munn. In 2009, it was officially recognised as the national Māori flag, and in 2010 was raised over the harbour bridge for the first time. There are practical reasons for flying it too: the flag pole already exists on the harbour bridge, and there are even tax savings as currently tax payers fund the storage of the flag for the days when it's not flying.

The Flag Poll is not aiming to break ground. It’s simply asking for a recognition of the history of this country; one that is not a matter of politics but simply a statement of fact. Māori culture and heritage is integral to Aotearoa, and is something worth celebrating and cherishing.

The petition can be signed at theflagpoll.nz, but supporters are also encouraged to fly the flag across all corners of the motu. 20,000 extra Tino Rangatiratanga flags have been produced to help facilitate that. Fly it anywhere you want, porches, cars, gardens, wherever, and support the kaupapa.