Treaty Principles Bill revealed, activists descend on Parliament

Thursday, 7 November 2024

Ngāti Toa and activists gathered outside of Parliament on Thursday as they awaited the tabling of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill in the House.

The bill was being introduced more than a week earlier than anticipated, which sparked outrage amongst Māori leaders. Protesters were also at the bill’s architect, David Seymour’s, electorate office in Auckland.

“Seymour’s underhanded actions, backed by the Government, to introduce the Bill to the House early before the Waitangi Tribunal’s report was scheduled to be released is shameful,” said Helmut Modlik, the chief executive of Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, who previously debated Seymour on the topic.

Ngāti Toa representatives planned to attend the introduction of the bill from the seats in the public gallery.

The bill was made public for the first time yesterday, and will be debated in Parliament next week when it has its first reading.

Read More: Anatomy of a hot potato. David Seymour and his treaty referendum policy

The bill lays out three principles.

Principle 1 states the Government has the full power to govern and make laws in the best interests of everyone; and in accordance with the rule of law and the maintenance of a free and democratic society.

Principle 2 states that the “Crown recognises, and will respect and protect, the rights that hapū and iwi Māori had under the Treaty of Waitangi/te Tiriti o Waitangi at the time they signed it. However, if those rights differ from the rights of everyone, clause 1 applies only if those rights are agreed in the settlement of a historical treaty claim under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975.”

Principle 3 states “everyone is equal before the law. Everyone is entitled, without discrimination, to— (a) the equal protection and equal benefit of the law; and (b) the equal enjoyment of the same fundamental human rights.”

Associate Justice Minister David Seymour said Cabinet had agreed to make one change to an earlier version of the principles and the wording of principle two had been narrowed “to provide that the rights of hapū and iwi differ from the rights everyone has a reasonable expectation to enjoy only when those rights are agreed to as part of a Treaty settlement.”

The previous wording was too broad, Seymour said.

Opposition spokesperson Peeni Henare, asked about the changed wording, said, “If we look towards a Ngāpuhi or potential Ngāpuhi settlement here, the Crown’s got a very, very tough decision to make here, if they’re settling with iwi, large natural groupings, or hapu. That’s the fight Ngāpuhi have always made, that hapu are the ones who signed [the Treaty], not iwi.”

National has previously said it will not support the bill past the first reading. It agreed to the bill as part of its coalition deal with ACT.

On his way into the House yesterday, Penare urged the prime minister to, “Kill the bill”.

“We are very clear on our position, that this is a waste of time. It’s a waste of taxpayer money, and if they truly believe the Māori-Crown relationship is a strong one, they’ll front up. Clearly, they don’t prioritise it.”

Unusually, shortly before Question Time, Labour, Te Pāti Māori and the Greens co-released a statement, again voicing opposition to the bill and calling on New Zealanders to “mobilise”.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi urged people to join the party for a hikoi, set to take place next week when the bill is debated, as part of the Toitū te Tiriti movement, which expected thousands of people to turnout.

“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,” Waititi said.

Said Labour leader Chris Hipkins, “This bill fails to uphold the promises made in the Treaty and disregards the voices of Māori. It is essential that we protect the principles of partnership, participation, and protection that the Treaty embodies.”

As the bill was tabled, Opposition yelled “shame” across the House, and a fiery war of words was exchanged between Te Pāti Maori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer who continued to raise points of order on the bill despite being consistently shut down by Speaker Gerry Brownlee.

Waititi began by raising a point of order to seek leave to move a motion to withdraw the bill - which was inevitably objected by many in the House.

After some back-and-forth, Ngarewa-Packer again tried to raise a point of order, “you're not speaking to it; I've ruled on it,” said Brownlee.

“The introduction of the Treaty Principles Bill without consulting King Charles is a sign of disrespect and brings the House into disrepute,” she then said.

“With respect, you're now trifling with the chair,” responded Brownlee.

Waititi attempted to come back in with a new point of order, “it might be a new point of order, but is it a related topic,” Brownlee asked.

But again Waititi raised a point of order on the bill that sparked a final reprimand from Brownlee, “you cannot use the point of order process in the House to introduce debating material, and that's what that is. That is the end of this matter—that's the end of this matter. No more points of order will be taken on this.”

One woman outside Parliament, who had come to protest the bill, told The Post that she was there for future generations. “What we do today changes what they see in the future, if we don’t stand up today, who is going to stand up for them?”

She said the Government was not just affecting Māori but everyone.

Shane Bold told The Post “we are very aware of the tactics that are being played, and please watch out, because we will come back with our strategy”.

“This is my message to this Government, we’re watching you, we see through the lines.”