Half a Treaty for Sale!
MANA Leader Hone Harawira
Tuesday 6th March 2012

“The Treaty of Waitangi has been reduced to a 51% shareholding” said MANA leader Hone Harawira, “thanks to an agreement by the Maori Party to support National’s Mixed Ownership Model Bill”.

“This bill will reduce the protection that the Treaty provided for assets held by the government because the Treaty protection clause, Section 9, has been changed so that it will not apply to the 49% of shares being sold to private investors”.

Harawira said that Maori wanted Section 9 in the new legislation because the Treaty applied to all people all of the time. “Nobody at the consultation hui supported the notion that government could sell off half our assets without having to account for the Treaty interests.”

Harawira said that law already existed where private entities that purchased assets with a Treaty covenant had to honour those covenants, “But this bill means that overseas investors won’t have any Treaty obligations at all”.

“I’m not that disappointed in the Maori Party staying with National over this. However it’s what most people expected.”

“The Maori Party talked tough and they may vote against this new bill but all they wanted was a deal that would let them keep their ministerial salaries and their perks, and they got it, so they’ll stay with National”.

But there’s a warning in this for the Maori Party … if you’re the driver of a group who commit armed robbery, then you’re as guilty as those who carry the guns. The Maori Party either gets out of the car now or they will be convicted along with National at the next election.

Harawira said that MANA stood alongside those who opposed the sale of state-owned assets, including 95% of Maoridom and a great majority of other New Zealanders. He also said that he might write to major overseas interests warning them that purchasing any of these state-owned assets might see them caught up in a storm of protest that will likely destroy their investment.

ENDS

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