the party believed that: Māori owned the foreshore and seabed before British colonisation; made no specific mention of foreshore or seabed; No-one has subsequently purchased or otherwise acquired the foreshore or the seabed; and Māori should therefore still own the seabed and the foreshore today. The (policy platform) of Te Pāti Māori is based on four principles or pillars: (includes policies regarding affordable housing, strengthening employment-support for Māori beneficiaries and te reo Māori) Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles (includes holding the Crown accountable to their obligations under , and policies on immigration) (includes policies on climate change in the Pacific and scholarships for Māori and Pasifika education to advance Māori and Pasifika as a collective) (includes policies on growing iwi economic resources and to protect freshwater as a ) These principles enable Te Pāti Māori to be held accountable for the maintenance and furthering of Māori concepts in the decision-making process. These concepts are not reflected in the traditional Westminster system and Māori customary law is excluded from the New Zealand general legal system. Other Māori-rights-specific party policies have included the upholding of "indigenous values" and compulsory "heritage studies" in schools. In 2022 on Waitangi Day, the party called for Queen Elizabeth II to be removed as New Zealand's head of state and for the return of land to iwi and hapū. The party is also committed to a mixture of socially progressive and environmentalist policy through a "Titiri-centric" Māori lens. The party is committed to eradicating Goods and Services Tax on food, opposing deep sea drilling, organising and funding a Māori health authority and reducing homelessness in Māori communities. Renaming New Zealand campaign In September 2021 the party launched an online petition to: change the country's official name to Aotearoa and officially restore Te Reo Māori names for all towns, cities and other place names. In its statement is mentioned Article 3 of the Treaty of Waitangi which gave the Māori language equal status with English. By 17 September 2021, 51,000 had signed the petition. By early June 2022, a petition from Te Pāti Māori to rename New Zealand as "Aotearoa" had received over 70,000 signatures. On 2 June, the petition was submitted before Parliament's petitions committee. Waititi argued that the proposed name change would recognise New Zealand's indigenous heritage and strengthen its identity as a Pacific country. He opposed the idea of a referendum, claiming it would entrench