Protest season begins as Government opens the Treaty debate
Sunday, 10 November 2024
Protesters and activists are promising “there will be resistance at every level”, as Parliament prepares to debate the Treaty Principles Bill.
The pinnacle of that protest will be a 10-day hīkoi, starting on Sunday in the Far North. A modest group of protesters are set to gather at a marae in Te Kāo. But by the time they arrive at Parliament on November 19, they are predicting up to 100,000 people will have joined the protest.
This protest, titled Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti (March for The Treaty), will kick-off a six month public consultation period to debate the Treaty and its principles. Last week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon doubled down on the proposed six month select committee hearing for the bill.
Why it matters
The Treaty Principles Bill has become a focal point of discontent for Māori and those concerned about indigenous rights during the coalition’s first year in power.
The bill itself will not pass, according to Luxon and NZ First’s Shane Jones, who have vowed to vote it down after public submissions conclude. Nevertheless, debate swirls as the bill has provided a stage for Māori to voice concerns about other Government policies, such as its decreased funding for te reo Māori, moves to remove Māori seats in local government, and removal of Treaty obligations from departments such as Oranga Tamariki.
Key players
ACT leader and associate justice minister David Seymour is responsible for the bill. In negotiations with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, he secured agreement that the Treaty Principles Bill would be drafted and debated during this term of government.
However, Luxon said National would not support it to become law - despite supporting its introduction.
All Opposition parties - Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori - have campaigned against the bill. Te Pāti Māori said it was stoking racial division, while Labour have said it is a wasteful use of government resources.
An activist group, Toitū Te Tiriti, has formed to oppose various coalition policies. The Treaty Principles Bill is one of its main targets. The group is organising this week’s hīkoi.
It has strong links to Te Pāti Māori, relying on key figures in the party to organise its “activations”. Those figures include Kiri Tamihere, a hīkoi organiser and campaign organiser for Te Pāti Māori. Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti spokesperson Eru Kapa-Kingi is also a former candidate for Te Pāti Māori.
On social media, Toi Tū Te Tiriti has about 30,000 followers. It collaborates with a pool of digital influencers, including creatives such as Hohepa (The HORI) Thompson and Te Rawhitiroa Bosch, a photographer who also has a major following.
The breakdown
Te Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti starts on Sunday at Pōtahi Marae. It’s an opportunity, says Kapa-Kingi, for those starting the hīkoi to collect themselves. On Sunday, they will head to the northern most point, Te Rerenga Wairua, Cape Reinga.
Over the following 10 days, the group will travel by foot and car to Wellington, stopping at marae across Te Ika ā Māui.
This protest action follows in the footsteps of Dame Whina Cooper. At 79 years old in 1975, she led a month-long march from Te Hāpua in Te Tai Tokerau, to Parliament. She arrived at Parliament with 5000 supporters and a petition with 60,000 signatures, opposed to the ongoing loss of Māori land.
Te Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti will be faster as the group travels by car and take a different route, but the idea remains: to show a nationwide concern about the state of Māori rights.
“The time frame and the locations are different, and that's deliberate as well,” Kapa-Kingi said.
“We have changed it to suit the new world, and new realities, that we live now. We have truncated the hīkoi itself to last seven days, and it’s very much a hard and fast approach knowing that we have technology available to us now that Kahurangi Whina and her generation did not have,” he explained.
When the hīkoi arrives in the capital, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, there will be a concert at Waitangi Park hosted by mana whenua.
“It’s to celebrate being Māori and the magic of tangata whenua, and to empower and uplift,” Kapa-Kingi said.
He predicted more than 50,000 people would take part in the hīkoi across the country.
“I also believe the numbers just on the day, in Poneke on November 18, will be north of that number. And in Tāmaki, with the population of Māori in Tāmaki, I think there will be an impressive show there,” he said.
The arguments
Seymour said the bill provided an opportunity to debate the constitutional arrangement of New Zealand.
“It will be looked back on as the time that the Treaty debate was democratized,” he said.
He also criticised National for ruling out further support for his bill.
“There’s no question that it takes ACT to put hard issues on the table,” he said.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said the bill was “treasonous”,
“This Government is waging war on our existence as Māori and on the fabric of this nation. To all the people of Aotearoa, we need you. We need you all to join the Hīkoi for Te Tiriti,” he said.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins and Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said the bill threatened the position of Māori and would remove the idea of partnership between the Crown and Māori.
“This bill fails to uphold the promises made in the Treaty and disregards the voices of Māori,” Hipkins said.
Swarbrick said Luxon should vote the bill down at its first reading.
“Our nation has real, deep issues to deal with instead of this desperate, divisive, imported culture war,” she said.
What next?
Te Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti will leave Te Rerenga Wairua on Monday, arriving in Wellington on November 18.
The protest at Parliament, on the 19th, had been planned to coincide with the first Treaty Principles Bill debate. But its first reading was brought forward to Thursday, November 14.