Democracy Upheld – the People have spoken: the Treaty is honoured

Dr Pita Sharples; Co-leader of the Maori Party and

Hone Harawira, Constitutional spokesperson for the Maori Party

Wednesday 26 September 2007

Treaty Deletion Bill Rejected

Today's report from Parliament's Justice and Electoral Committee, recommending that the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill not be passed, is being lauded as a sign of the power of the people, says Hone Harawira, who is a non-voting member of the committee.

“It is a huge sign of a maturing national identity, to see that 160 submissions (out of the 171 received) expressed overwhelming opposition to even the idea of removing the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi from legislation” said Harawira.

“New Zealanders will not forget the fact that when this wretched Bill was first put before the Parliament on 23 July 2006, Labour joined ranks with National, NZ First, United Future, ACT and the Progressive Party to support the Bill to wipe the words ‘the “Treaty of Waitangi and its principles' from New Zealand's law books” said Hone Harawira, Constitutional spokesperson for the Maori Party.

The Green Party and the Maori Party were the only parties to oppose the Bill.

“The Select Committee has reported back that submitters were alarmed that this Bill would have a “major impact on some pieces of legislation”, including making the Waitangi Tribunal’s jurisdiction “itself nonsensical” said Dr Sharples, Co-leader of the Maori Party.

Crown Minimising Recognition of the Treaty

“The Select Committee also confirmed that the Bill “would seriously erode relationships between the Crown and Maori”; and that it would “send a message that the Crown was minimising recognition of the Treaty and the status of Maori” reported Dr Sharples.

“This Government has already done enough to seriously erode the concept of good faith through :

- opposing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;

- taking the Treaty out of the school curriculum;

- forcing ahead Treaty settlements in which the Crown’s process is inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi;

- passing legislation even though they've been widely advised it breaches Treaty principles - such as the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 –

-and acting in a way in which Waitangi Tribunal recommendations are routinely ignored with the Crown's actions described as “cavalier”, “unfair” and “generally un-cooperative” “ said Dr Sharples.

“In the last month, they have also earned harsh criticism, again, from the UN in their flawed performance in implementing the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination” said Dr Sharples.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva reported that the New Zealand Government was acting to”diminish the importance and relevance of the Treaty and to create a context unfavourable to the rights of Maori” (para 13).

“Although New Zealand First has attempted to blame the people, criticising their submissions as perpetuating “deliberate mis-understanding” and displaying “obsession with the wording”; as well as seeking to blame a political party for “false propaganda”; it seems to us, the Maori Party, that the people have spoken – and we in the Parliament must respect the value that New Zealanders place in giving due and proper regard to the Treaty” said Hone Harawira.

“The Crown must uphold their part of the bargain – and keep to the mutual obligations and responsibilities that the Treaty places on tangata whenua and the Crown” said Hone Harawira.

“Each Treaty partner must act reasonably and in good faith towards the other” said Harawira. “The people have had enough of the hostilities – the practice of removing, deleting, voting against; the flawed procedures; the constant breaches” said Hone Harawira.

“We hope that the message New Zealanders have sent today – in speaking out against the contempt which all parties (except the Greens and the Maori Party) have displayed towards the Treaty – will be heard, and that the Parliament will take active and positive steps towards honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi” said Dr Sharples.

Treaty Deletion on Dominion Day Staggering

“I find it staggering that the Prime Minister can speak today, on Dominion Day, about the concepts of nationhood, and ignore the very foundation of our nationhood – Te Tiriti o Waitangi” stated Dr Sharples.

“It does not add up – how can one possibly talk about the development of our nationhood, ‘the symbols, events and ideas and values which have contributed to the fabric of our identity’ and ignore the Treaty? The Treaty is our founding document - where the British Crown and Maori made a political compact to reside together; to create a new constitutional relationship which would recognise the rights of both parties".

“Not only have successive governments refused to turn to the task of what that new constitutional relationship might be based on and look like - the Prime Minister has referred to ‘inclusion’; to the ‘shaping of our identity’; to the ‘phenomena which have shaped our country’s identity, and yet has completely ignored the centrality of the Treaty to these things” said Dr Sharples.

“The fatal omission of Te Tiriti o Waitangi from the Prime Minister’s address on Dominion Day is extremely disappointing” said Dr Sharples.

“However, we take heart from the resounding rejection of the Deletion Bill by the majority of New Zealanders who came to Parliament to stand up for our heritage – our history and our future in this land” said Dr Sharples.

“We, like them, will always fight to protect the Treaty’s status and its centrality to New Zealand’s constitutional framework” ended Dr Sharples.

ENDS

© Scoop Media