The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill.

“It’s time to be brave and back our founding agreement over the dirty deal you made with a coalition partner, Christopher. Abandon the Bill and honour the Treaty,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Justice, Tamatha Paul.

“Aotearoa as we know it was built on Te Tiriti. Te Tiriti affirms the rights of Māori to continue to care for their people and their taonga. It provides the foundations for an enduring relationship between tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti. It is a blueprint for all of us to thrive.

“Te Tiriti is something thousands across the country feel incredibly strongly about, so much so that they have taken to the streets and joined the hīkoi descending on our Parliament.

“We have had the Waitangi Tribunal, religious leaders and now senior lawyers publicly condemn this Bill and forewarn of the damage it will inflict upon our nation. It is deeply concerning that our country’s most senior lawyers, who will be charged with interpreting the Bill in question, have sounded the alarm.

“At Waitangi, Christopher Luxon told Māori that Te Tiriti was our past, present and future. At the tangi of Kiingi Tuuhetia, he spoke to the importance of kotahitanga and the need to honour the legacy of the late Kiingi. If his words are actually worth anything, he would not allow legislation that aims to completely corrupt and defile the defining essence of our nation to progress any further in our Parliament.

“This Bill does not deserve to progress an inch further in our Parliament. Governments are temporary, Te Tiriti is forever. This is something all Prime Ministers need to take note of, especially Christopher Luxon as he contemplates whether to allow this assault on our founding agreement to advance or not.

“We call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing and uphold the dignity, meaning and integrity of our founding agreement and abandon this Bill. We will also continue to push for this to be a conscience vote. It’s time for the 123 Members of this Parliament to take personal, individual responsibility for whether this Treaty Principles Bill nonsense goes any further, ” says Tamatha Paul.

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