The Prime Minister has failed to show leadership and kill the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s time to stand up for our shared history and tell the government why they are wrong to divide us.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown, and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today.
Northland was the birthplace and home of the Treaty. Leaders of all stripes convene here every year on Waitangi Day to pay homage to this history.
The thousands that recently marched through Northland as part of the national Hīkoi to parliament – was certainly a powerful reminder that we here in the North still live and breathe the mana of Te Tiriti and the Māori-Crown relationship it fosters.
David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill, now introduced to the House, seeks to fracture that relationship. It is intended to divide our country.
The bill has no support from any other party in Parliament. Even so, Christopher Luxon is allowing it to be debated for six months, after which time it will be voted down by most of parliament, including his own party.
If all that sounds like a waste of time and money, that’s because it is. Rather than further the partnership between Māori and the Crown, Luxon is bowing to the wishes of David Seymour, as he did so many times during their coalition negotiations.
The bill is also harmful. Government officials warn the bill could cause “significant social harm”. Christian leaders say it is “treacherous and dangerous”. The Waitangi Tribunal says “any trust or goodwill earned by Treaty settlements is under threat”.
Former National MP and Treaty Minister Chris Finlayson calls it “pernicious nonsense”. Current Finance Minister Nicola Willis called it “dangerous” because it is one party seeking to impose new terms on another without their consent. Christoper Luxon himself says “there is nothing in the Treaty Principles Bill I like.”
We called on that very same Prime Minister to show leadership, stand by his convictions and kill the bill. More than 15,000 Kiwis signed our open letter. Luxon could and should have listened. But on this and so much more, he is failing as a leader.
He is failing, and the result is a government that is harming Māori. National has repealed Māori wards, removed funding for Māori language classes, abolished the Māori Health Authority, cut funding to Māori Television and 51 roles at the Office for Māori Crown Relations, and much, much more.
We need leadership, not someone content with failure. Not a leader so weak he is willing to risk our nation’s progress just to keep David Seymour happy. Not a leader who allows an abomination like the Treaty Principles Bill into the House, even though he doesn’t support it. Not a leader who changed the bill’s launch day so he wouldn’t be around to face the music. That’s cowardice, plain and simple.
Christopher Luxon letting the Treaty Principles Bill through will cost taxpayers millions, divide our country, and ultimately take New Zealand backwards.
Hon Willow-Jean Prime, spokesperson for Children; Youth; Associate Education (Māori).