Ma¯ori Party co-leader leaks ministry advice on Treaty Principles Bill
A leaked paper from the Ministry of Justice says the coalition Government’s proposed legislation to define the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi could be “highly contentious”.
Te Pa¯ti Ma¯ori co-leader Rawiri Waititi posted an image of one page of the document to social media early yesterday morning, encouraging his followers to let the document “fuel . . . our fire”, a reference to his party’s opposition to several Ma¯ori-focused policies of the new Government.
It came on the eve of a national hui, organised by the Ma¯ori King, at Tu¯rangawaewae Marae in Nga¯ruawa¯hia to unify Ma¯ori and
discuss the potential impact of those policies.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith confirmed to the Herald that the ministry would investigate the leak. He said the document was a draft that had not yet been considered by the Cabinet.
The idea for a Treaty Principles Bill came from the Act Party and was agreed in its coalition deal with National. Leader David Seymour believed there was a need to clarify the meaning of the principles.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said National would support the bill to the select committee stage, indicating it would not continue its support beyond that.
Waititi’s post showed advice, reportedly from the Justice Ministry, that suggested the bill could be highly contentious given the “fundamental constitutional nature of the subject matter” and the “lack of consultation with the public on the policy development prior to select committee”.
It included three proposed new principles based on the articles in the Treaty:
● The New Zealand Government has the right to govern all New Zealanders.
● The New Zealand Government will honour all New Zealanders in the chieftainship of their land and all their property.
● All New Zealanders are equal under the law with the same rights and duties.
1News, reporting to have the full document, claimed the ministry advised that the bill risked conflicting with the “rights or interests of Ma¯ori under the Treaty because it is not derived from the spirit of the text of the Treaty”.
“Developing a bill that purports to settle the Treaty principles without working with the Treaty partner could be seen as one partner (the Crown) attempting to define what the Treaty means and the obligations it creates,” the document said.
It also raised the likelihood the bill could breach international agreements, according to 1News.
“The bill may be seen as discriminatory and contrary to certain binding international standards such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
“In addition, the bill removes an effective measure in our legal system to enforce the right of Ma¯ori to exercise self-determination, and cultural aspirations in the international standards and obligations above.”
Seymour, who is also Regulations Minister, told the Herald the advice was a “natural reaction” from a bureaucracy that had “presided over increasing division over these issues”.
Seymour said he didn’t believe the advice was biased.
However, he said it was clear New Zealand had become more divided over matters of race and the Government had inherited a bureaucracy in which there was “residual sentiment” that change and open debate on this topic was wrong.
Of Waititi’s leak, he said the Te Pa¯ti Ma¯ori co-leader had regularly shown “no respect” for democratic institutions. Seymour encouraged more public discussion of the Treaty.
Goldsmith confirmed he had full confidence in his officials while recognising there was always a “bit of turbulence” within the public service when there was a change of government.
Asked whether there would be any consultation on the bill before it entered the House, Goldsmith didn’t rule it out, saying: “All those decisions haven’t been made.”
However, Seymour said it was very rare for consultation to occur before a select committee stage.