Chris Luxon   

As he stares down the most difficult week of his tenure so far, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon has offered his own challenge to Maori: improve school attendance.

Maori leaders have labelled the New Zealand government as "the enemy" and warned Prime Minister Chris Luxon off "meddling" with the Treaty of Waitangi during heated speeches at a Maori festival.

The New Zealand government's summer of discontent has resumed as Prime Minister Chris Luxon faces criticism for opting out of a nationwide gathering called by the Maori King.

As New Zealand grapples with a new style of government and a new approach to the Maori language, Prime Minister Chris Luxon has fallen foul of his own advice to the public service.

New Zealand is likely to send a bipartisan duo to the Pacific Islands Forum, with incoming Prime Minister Chris Luxon all but ruling out attendance.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has doubled down on allegations his opponents are race-baiting in New Zealand's election campaign, delivering a charged speech pledging to uphold the Treaty of Waitangi.