National Party leader Christopher Luxon used his speech at Ratana Pa to attack the Government over co-governance, saying Labour has allowed a "divisive and immature" debate.
In response, Chris Hipkins - who will be sworn in as Prime Minister today - said politicians should never use uncertainty and misunderstanding to cultivate fear for political gain.
Considered the first event on the new year’s political calendar, Ratana celebrations mark the birthday of the church movement’s founder and prophet Tahupatiki Wiremu Ratana.
The movement won political influence through the Maori seats, and formed an alliance with Labour in the 1930s.
While those ties remain, other parties are also invited to speak during the annual celebrations.
"I think it has been quite a divisive and immature conversation over recent years, and I personally think it’s because the Government hasn’t been upfront or transparent with the New Zealand people about where it’s going and what it’s doing."
He expressed his opposition to "co-governance of public services" soon after his elevation to the party leadership more than a year ago.
His speech yesterday was a softening of the attack line used by his predecessor Judith Collins over the "He Puapua" report, written by academics and experts, which set out how to implement the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples signed up to by John Key’s government in 2010.
Ms Collins argued He Puapua was being implemented by stealth, something the Government rejected, saying it was not government policy.
Mr Luxon instead targeted measures in government policy - the 50% representation of local Maori alongside councils in Three Waters and the establishment of the stand-alone Maori Health Authority.
He said National had delivered innovations alongside Maori.
"I think about Kohanga Reo, I think about Whanau Ora, innovations that were delivered within the coherency of a single system of delivery of public service.
"We believe in a single coherent system - not one system for Maori and another system for non-Maori - for the delivery of public services.
"It doesn’t mean that we don’t want Maori involved in decision-making and partnering with Maori. We have a principal objection because New Zealand has one government.
"It’s elected by all of us, it’s accountable to all of us and its public services are available to anyone who needs them."
Asked yesterday to define co-governance, Mr Hipkins said the arrangements took a variety of different forms, and needed to be explained in their own context.
"From my perspective the most important thing we can do is talk to New Zealanders, explain to New Zealanders what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.
"Race relations should not ever be used as an issue to divide New Zealanders ... Certainly in the past it has been."
Asked if Ratana was the appropriate forum for a speech about co-governance, he said it was up to other party leaders to decide what they would speak on, but National’s position seemed to change "quite a lot between when they’re in government and when they’re in opposition".
He said in his speech at the pa, the relationship between Maori and non-Maori had often been characterised by too much uncertainty and misunderstanding.
"In an environment of uncertainty and misunderstanding it is easy for fear to be cultivated.
"As political leaders we have two options when faced with that - we can seek to exploit that fear for political advantage, or we can seek to eliminate it.
"He waka eke noa - we are all on the waka together.
"Some are paddling faster than others, and sometimes we need to take a moment so that everybody can catch up and when we need to do that we should, but we should never allow our relationship to be characterised by fear."
