Opposition politicians said the letter was a necessary ‘extreme step’, with Māori rights under almost weekly attack from the government

New Zealand’s opposition parties have thrown their support behind a letter appealing to King Charles III to intervene in New Zealand’s politics amid tensions over the government’s policies for Māori.

The Guardian on Wednesday revealed the National Iwi Chairs forum – a collective of more than 80 tribal leaders – had written a letter to the king, asking him “to ensure that the [New Zealand] government does not diminish the crown’s honour” over what they consider ongoing breaches of the crown’s promises made to Māori in the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document.