Politicians attending have been jostled and heckled; mud was thrown at the Leader of the Opposition Don Brash in 2004,[1] and the Prime Minister John Key was grabbed by two protestors in 2009.

[2] In February 2016, New Zealand had just signed the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, which had been widely criticised by Māori as undermining the self-determination that should be guaranteed to them by the Treaty of Waitangi.

[3] Prime Minister John Key wanted to respond to critics of the TPP at Waitangi, but was told he would not be allowed to discuss politics on the marae.

[3] Two days before the Waitangi ceremonies, where a large anti-TPP protest was promised, Key decided not to attend, and sent senior politician and Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce as the government's representative.

[4] While Joyce was speaking to reporters at Te Tii Marae, Waitangi, on the day before the celebrations, Josie Butler, a Christchurch nurse, threw what appeared to be a dildo (in the form of a large flesh-toned rubber penis and testicles) at him.