The role of the Opposition Party is to hold the Government to account on its promises, its ability or lack thereof to deliver on those promises, and to ask the questions New Zealanders want answers to.

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We have been very concerned to learn over the past couple of weeks that the Government has doing work on a report called He Puapua but has not been sharing that with the wider public. He Puapua spells out a clear vision for New Zealand in 2040 under a ‘two-system’ Treaty view. It includes two systems for health and two systems of Justice, among others.

The 2019 document proposes separate Māori wards on Councils and most importantly, constitutional reform to consider matters such as a Māori Parliament or upper house which would be able to veto any decision of the New Zealand Parliament.

He Puapua has never been publicly announced but several recommendations, such as Māoricouncil wards and a separate Māori Health Authority, have been implemented already without an acknowledgement from the Government that they are part of a wider plan. The Māori Health Authority would see one health system for Māori and one for everyone else.

National has always believed there is room within our health system for programmes that target the needs of different groups within our society. But Labour’s proposed changes are different. They are creating two separate systems where one would have veto power over the other.

We believe separate systems would lead to worse outcomes for everyone. It will mean decisions are slow, fraught, and inefficient. It changes the fabric of who we are as a society and it will divide our communities.

The report goes further and could dramatically reshape how democracy looks in this country under an approach of having one system for Māoriand another for everyone else across multiple layers of government. Because if two systems are needed in health, does that mean two systems are also required in education, justice, and resource management?

If He Puapua is implemented in its entirety, New Zealand will cease to be a democracy in which all people have equal representation and would instead operate as a two-system state. New Zealand, like all countries, works better when we are one people.

We support targeted programmes like Whanau Ora but dividing our society along racial lines when it comes to running core services is a step too far. If Labour believes New Zealand should have two systems for everything, then that is a fundamental change to our society.

National has been calling on the Prime Minister and her Government to make its position on the document and its plan for the future of New Zealand clear. We need to have a national conversation, one that has honest, respectful, and open debate. A debate where every voice is heard. A clear vision for where it leads and one that goes to a referendum if needed.

Changes such as these cannot be snuck through. In the spirit of being open and transparent, National has made our position clear on the report, we do not support many of its recommendations as written.

We are better off addressing the flaws in our current system that are not working for everyone.

Ethnicity should not divide us; we are better together. -Judith Collins, National party leader based in Auckland. Leader of the opposition, Member for Papkura, National Party.