Greens urge Government to listen to Tribunal

The Green Party is calling on the Government to accept and honour recommendations from the Waitangi Tribunal, regardless of how electorally unpalatable it may find them.

"If the Tribunal rules tomorrow [Wednesday] that the Crown breached the Treaty by nationalising oil and gas reserves under Maori land, then that should have the same validity as any finding in a land-claim case," Green Maori Affairs spokesperson, Metiria Turei said today.

"The Tribunal is the only independent assessor of Treaty grievances that we have. It should not be up to the Crown - which is the perpetrator of those grievances - to pick and choose which rulings it will accept and which it will reject.

"I am deeply disappointed that the Prime Minister appears to be approaching this issue with such a closed mind.

"We were delighted to congratulate the Government last week on budgeting $6.5 million for what we hope will be the first step in a comprehensive Treaty education process.

"For the Prime Minister to come out now and appear to pre-judge the findings of the Waitangi Tribunal seems like bad faith."

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