[4][5] The phrase features in current historical and political discourse on race relations in New Zealand and is widely used by Māori advocacy groups.
Activists such as Donna Awatere Huata have also advanced the cause of self-determination, envisioning full independence in works like Māori Sovereignty.
[12] The original Māori text of article two with a literal translation by Professor I. H. Kawharu, as published in the Report of the Royal Commission on Social Policy in 1988 (bold added):[13] Ko te Kuini o Ingarani ka wakarite ka wakaae ki nga Rangatira ki nga hapu – ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani te tino rangatiratanga o o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa.
The Queen of England agrees to protect the Chiefs, the subtribes and all the people of New Zealand in the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship over their lands, villages and all their treasures.
The design of the flag references the Māori creation story of Rangi and Papa, suggesting the sky, the earth, and the physical realm of light and being, which was created when they were separated.