Waitangi one of his major aims, presenting a petition with over 30,000 signatures. The petition from the Ratana morehu was held over for thirteen years before being virtually ignored, but Tirikatane continued to raise the Treaty issue in debates. During the depression of that time, Māori were expected to subsist from their land, and were not given equal access to unemployment payments and relief work. Proving entitlement to the old age pension was also more difficult for Māori, as Māori did not have to register births until 1919. Tirikatene spoke out against this discrimination in social welfare which caused poverty to Māori and the removal of this inequality by the Labour Government strengthened the Labour and Ratana bond. Following the Ratana-Labour alliance, Tirikatene became the First President of the Labour Party Māori Advisory Council, a committee to set Māori policy for the party. During the Second World War, Tirikatene set up and led the Māori War Effort Organisation. The experience of Māori running their own affairs led him to introduce the Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act of 1945, but it did not give the independence for iwi he had hoped for. Between 1946 and 1949, Tirikatene was involved in land claim settlements for Waikato—Maniapoto and Taranaki. He persuaded the Ngāi Tahu to accept the Ngaitahu Claim Settlement Act of 1944 and became president of the Ngaitahu Trust Board. After a period in opposition, he was appointed Minister of Forests, and Minister in charge of Printing and Stationery. Tirikatene was expecting Māori Affairs, which was taken by Prime Minister Walter Nash. The two often clashed, with Tirikatene wanting greater autonomy for Māori. One achievement of this period was the official recognition of Waitangi Day through the Waitangi Day Act 1960, commemorating the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Tirikatene continued committee work while in opposition after 1960, and remained an MP until his death. He was succeeded in the seat by his daughter, Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan. Recognition In 1935, Tirikatene was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal. In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1960 Queen's Birthday Honours. Within the Ratana movement, he was known as Te Omeka. References New Zealand Labour Party MPs Ngāi Tahu people Rātana MPs New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of St