Just 24 hours after commemorating our national day, an angry spat has flared up over who looks after Waitangi's sacred land and whether people should have to pay to visit.
On Tuesday tourists braved the rain to check out the Waitangi Treaty grounds and did not seem to mind paying $12 for the privilege.
But the Prime Minister wants to stop the Waitangi National Trust from charging for people to enter the historic grounds. Helen Clark says the government is reviewing legislation which covers the board.
She says the Treaty grounds are an iconic New Zealand premises. Clark says she wants to see people able to enter the birthplace of our nation, without a charge, although she stopped short of saying the government would seize control of the trust.
Maori caucus member Dover Samuels agrees.
He says the public does not have to pay to enter a lot of other places like Te Papa.
Samuels says he has spoken to many New Zealanders who think it is ridiculous to be charged to enter an iconic place like Waitangi.
The government's review has trustees worried. "One of the key or core things about Waitangi National Trust is that it's independent and apolitical. Governments come and go but the trust board stays," Jeremy Williams says.
But Clark says there is no intention to have political influence. "You've got to recognise these premises around the Treaty house are iconic New Zealand premises," she says.
The trust says government representatives on the board have done little to help. It wants to phase out the entry charge but needs the money to pay for a $20 million building project.
Others are calling for someone neutral like a Treaty Commissioner to resolve the standoff.
Maori Party MP Hone Harawira made the call at Waitangi celebrations, saying he wants the person to be neutral and operate above all the politics.
But Auckland University of Technology Treaty historian Dr Paul Moon says he cannot see much point in a request for a commissioner. He wonders how the role would be different to what is currently in place.
Moon says even the Waitangi Tribunal has few formal powers to make decisions, so it is unlikely the idea of a commissioner will get any leverage.
