Tens of thousands of people gathered at Parliament in Wellington today as part of the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti today to protest the Treaty Principles Bill.
Parliament grounds were at capacity and police and traffic wardens had to usher new arrivals to surrounding streets.
Estimates of the crowd size have been fluctuating - this evening RNZ is reporting 42,000, while The New Zealand Herald says there were as many as 55,000 in attendance.
Act leader David Seymour, the chief proponent of the Treaty Principles Bill, briefly ventured outside to the gathered crowds at about 1.20pm.
He had at least four uniformed police officers and three diplomatic protection officers with him.
He left after about five minutes.
"I felt these people have made a long journey to Parliament and we as parliamentarians should be there to hear them," Seymour told reporters afterwards.
"I have to say it was quite difficult to hear a lot of what was being said, but nonetheless I thought it was important to be out there."
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi spoke to the crowd, saying no government had the right to debate rangatiratanga.
"Thanks to Hana [Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke], the whole world is watching," he said.
"My sovereign peoples, we are here, and we’re not going anywhere.”
He implored those who whakapapa Māori to switch from the general electoral roll to the Māori one, in order to boost the potential number of Māori MPs in Parliament.
"Get on the Māori roll. We have to make this a one term government."
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon acknowledged the depth of feeling among hīkoi participants when speaking to reporters inside Parliament, saying the size of it did not surprise him.
He reiterated the Treaty Principles Bill would not become law, as National would not support its second reading.
Interviewed earlier before Question Time, the Prime Minister said it was up to Parliament's justice committee to decide whether the select committee process on the Treaty Principles Bill should be shortened.
The select committee will receive public submissions until January 7, and intends to complete hearings by the end of February.
It means the Prime Minister will head to Waitangi while submissions on the bill are still happening.
Luxon was asked whether he would prefer if the bill was disposed of before Waitangi Day commemorations.
"It'll be what it will be.
"Let's be clear - there is a strong depth of emotion on all sides of this debate.
"Yes, [the bill] is not something I like or support, but we have come to a compromise.
"Now, it's in the hands of Parliament, it's now in the hands of the select committee, they work through the timing from here on through, as they should."
He had previously said he would be open to meeting with a delegation from the hīkoi, but ultimately has not done so.
National instead sent a delegation of MPs out to receive the hīkoi.
"I haven't been able to meet with hīkoi organisers today. I was open to doing so but the reality frankly is many of them are Te Pāti Māori-affiliated.
"But my message more importantly to the hīkoi in general, is that our longstanding position, as I've said from day one, is we don't support the bill and it won't be becoming law."
Luxon said he would continue to meet with iwi leaders up and down the country.
In response to calls to shorten the six-month select committee process, Luxon said it was up to the Justice Committee to decide how long it should be.
NZ First's second-ranked MP Shane Jones said the hīkoi had been an "extraordinary display, flags fluttering, banners, but by and large a peaceful crowd".
He said he was slightly surprised by the response, given the Treaty Principles Bill will not be passed, but it made clear that the government must work hard to explain it is not doing anything to invalidate Māori identity.
"I think what's happened is they've tapped into a sense of anxiety within Māoridom that their rights, identity is being imperiled.
"So we've got to work very hard to ensure them that identity is not only a personal responsibility but we're not doing anything to invalidate Māori identity."
"It's proved to be a clarion call, a rallying cry, maybe the opposition parties will try and harvest some votes - but at the end of the day it's MMP politics. David put his shingle up and now he's inseverably linked to the bill."
He says it looked to him like "a hell of a lot more than 35,000 if you want my honest views", and it was a generational moment.
"The Māori race is now very young, they didn't grow up the way we did but a lot of voting power's young power. And my message to them though is that a viral moment that goes global does not necessarily survive and if you've got any doubts about, look at Jacinda Ardern."
The crowds gathered outside Parliament began to disperse and make their way to Waitangi Park by about 3pm.
A concert will now take place at Waitangi Park and a series of food trucks will provide food and refreshments to those who attend.
Hīkoi organiser Eru Kapa Kiingi thanked those who took part in the hīkoi across the country for demonstrating a clear message of kotahitanga throughout the journey.
'The movement here is magnificent'
The hīkoi left Waitangi Park at 10am, and arrived at Parliament at about 11.30am.
They were welcomed by mana whenua Kura Moeahu of Te Āti Awa, Taranaki –Tuturu, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Toa at about noon.
The South Island contingent of the hīkoi arrived as one shortly before that.
Ōtautahi Christchurch hīkoi organiser Teresa Butler said she was at the protest today to take a stand with on behalf of her daughter.
She told RNZ it was an amazing atmosphere at Parliament.
"The movement here is magnificent there are thousands and thousands of whānau.
"They are happy, they are driven, they are singing waiata, and all motivated for this kaupapa."
She said the Act Party bill had the impact of bringing people from across the country together today.
Some Members of Parliament, including a small contingent of National MPs, ventured out on the forecourt to meet the hīkoi.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the select committee process for the Treaty Principles Bill had opened Pandora's box, and it would bring out the worst in New Zealanders.
He said Luxon had a lot to answer for, and blaming the MMP system didn't wash.
Hundreds of people who set off from the Far North more than a week ago have driven into the city from Porirua this morning, arriving at the park where thousands of others will join them as they march through the city's golden mile to Parliament.
Māori Queen Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po joined the hīkoi's final stage to Parliament, flanked by students from Te Wharekura o Rakaumanga and the Kiingitanga.
Superintendent Corrie Parnell told RNZ police were expecting more than 10,000 people today, but were prepared for a larger turnout, which appears to have eventuated.
Police have reported no problems with the large crowd.
Journalists who covered the foreshore and seabed protest say today's turnout is "much bigger". That hīkoi in 2004 was estimated to number about 15,000 people.
Wellington regional councillor Thomas Nash said there were 40,000 people through the train station this morning.
Normally on a busy weekday, there would be 17,000.
He said that was a conservative estimate, because many people weren't tagging on or off, and it was possibly the busiest morning on the rail network they've ever seen.
Crown-Māori Relations Minister Tama Potaka met a small number of hīkoi supporters this morning outside Parliament and also shook hands with some in the crowd.
A petition to stop the Treaty Principles Bill will be delivered at the hīkoi to Parliament today at noon. The official number of signatories is 203,653.
The Act Party has emailed its supporters urging them to make submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill, as the hīkoi mō te Tiriti approaches Parliament.
With the subject line 'it's time', the message says even short submissions are helpful and should be factual and polite.
It then provides an example template in support of Act's position on the Treaty, voicing support for the principles proposed in the bill and the belief that New Zealanders should be able to vote on it in a referendum.
The email concludes with the standard link calling for donations to the party, saying Act is a "grassroots movement".
