Senior New Zealand government figures met head-to-head on Aug. 19 with a pan-Māori movement, inexorably opposed to its efforts to end what it sees as special treatment on the basis of race.
Although there is sometimes disagreement between—and even within—tribes on political issues, they appear united against a government which has, since taking office, taken an axe to several agencies charged with delivery of services exclusive to Māori.
Some have called these moves “racist” while others see it as redressing a balance that has long been out of kilter.
Among its more contentious decisions have been the complete closure of the Māori Health Authority and the slashing of staff numbers at the Office of Māori-Crown Relations.
It’s also moved to repeal a law that says Māori fostered children should be placed with extended family, proposing legislation banning gang patches, and has said it intends to pull out of the United National Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
Different Laws for Māori?
A key focus of the libertarian ACT Party, one part of New Zealand’s current tri-party government, has been to legally clarify that the “principles of the Treaty are what the three articles of the Treaty actually say.”The Treaty of Waitangi, signed by the Crown and most Māori leaders in 1840, is not only a relatively short document, but it also has two versions—one in English, the other in Māori.
In 1975, the Labour government passed the Treaty of Waitangi Act, which said the Treaty had “principles.” However, it didn’t define what those might be, but instead left it to the newly established Waitangi Tribunal to interpret them.
As a consequence, there is now almost 50 years of case law that attempts to enact the “intent” of the original document, and has bestowed upon Māori a range of unique rights different from the rest of the population.
While long a point of contention, the issue flared up toward the end of the term of the previous Labour government, who passed laws that would have taken control of water resources from local councils, and passed it to new bodies which incorporated Māori tribes in a “co-governance” role.
It also removed the requirement for councils to hold a referendum before introducing special Māori wards, and several councils proceeded to do so amid vocal opposition.
Politicians Faced With Heated Response from Māori
So it was against this backdrop that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, senior ministers, the Leader of the Opposition, New Zealand First Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, and a number of MPs were welcomed to Tūrangawaewae for an annual event known as “Koroneihana,” the celebration of the coronation of the Māori King.Māori speakers were united in their opposition to most of these new government policies, but it was the Treaty Principles Bill that led to the most passionate speeches.
Justin Tipa, the chair of the Ngāi Tahu tribe—which covers the entire South Island—told the coalition government that Māori are fed up with Crown representatives stomping on their rights and would continue to unite against it.
Tukuroirangi Morgan, a former New Zealand First MP and now chairman of the organisation which controls the affairs of Tainui tribal confederation—which covers the central North Island—told the prime minister that his government had “thrown Māori under the bus and you’ve run them over.”
“We know your ears are deaf to our people ... the king has said that we must unite, we have to be strategically political.”
He urged Māori people to get off the general electoral roll and onto the Māori roll “so that actually we can determine the face of the next government, because right now prime minister, things look despairing and grim for our people.”
“We are not going back to the 1800s,” Morgan said. “We will never be denied”.
Bill Won’t Have Support Beyond 1st Reading
Tama Potaka, the minister for Māori Crown Relations, spoke about the coalition agreement between the ACT and its partners the National and New Zealand First.He said their coalition agreement only required that National and New Zealand First support the Bill to the First Reading stage.
That means it would be introduced to Parliament and likely referred to a Select Committee. When the Bill is referred back to the House, neither party is bound to vote for a Second Reading, and hence, neither he nor the prime minister would support its progression.
But Rahui Papa from the Kiingitanga (the movement headed by the Māori King) told Potaka he must stop the Bill immediately and decide what mattered most—his identity or his party.
He did applaud politicians who had come to “face up and front up” to the “difficult discussions we must have.”
But he warned, “Mess with our [children], and we will not sit quietly.”
Māori Party MP Tākuta Ferris said his party would fight “for generations to come” against the “assault” on Māori and told Prime Minister Luxon to prove he is a leader and put a stop to the Bill.
When it came to his turn to speak, Luxon committed National to not supporting the Bill beyond the First Reading.
He said he has heard many concerns have been raised and that he was “acutely aware of them.”
“Unity doesn’t mean all of us being or thinking the same,” he said, adding that there will be “intense” times ahead.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Luxon said he expected that coming to Tūrangawaewae would be challenging, and “all sorts of views [would be] represented.”
“What’s very special is that we actually all do come here and we still come together despite differences in the ways we would go about advancing New Zealand.”
Deputy Prime Minister Peters left early and did not speak, and ACT Leader David Seymour claimed his party was not invited, something organisers deny.
Luxon also confirmed all parties had been invited but said whether or not ACT attended was “up to them”.
