Te Pāti Māori and the Green Party are urging Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to kill his coalition partner’s Treaty Principles Bill after a Waitangi Tribunal report recommended the policy be abandoned.
Both opposition parties called out Luxon for saying he’s committed to honouring the Treaty.
“At Waitangi, Christopher Luxon told Māori that Te Tiriti was our past, present and future. If he truly meant what he said, he would not allow someone to attempt to re-write our history with such a lack of understanding and regard for this nation’s founding agreement,” Greens Māori development spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon said in a statement.
“He would also not allow another member of his government to remove Treaty clauses from different pieces of legislation,” Lyndon said.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said the prime minister was on record saying he was committed to upholding Article 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the tino rangatiratanga of te iwi Māori.
“He needs to prove this by immediately abandoning the Treaty Principles Bill and implementing all the recommendations of the tribunal.”
‘Position has not changed’
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is in Australia talking to his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese about cybersecurity, 501s and AUKUS pillar two.
Luxon’s office has confirmed his “position has not changed” and he and National will allow the Treaty Principles Bill to proceed through its first reading in Parliament but will not support it beyond that stage.
‘Can’t hide behind coalition’
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said it was time for Luxon to prove his worth as a leader and he couldn’t hide behind his coalition partners anymore.
“Either he has given full control of his government to David Seymour, or he is using the coalition agreement as an excuse to pursue his own anti-Māori agenda.
“The tribunal has given the prime minister an opportunity to restore some honour to the Crown, and to himself, by abandoning the Act Party’s anti-Treaty policies and beginning the process of healing his relationship with Māori,” she said in a statement.
The Greens’ Māori and Crown relations spokesperson, Steve Abel, called for the prime minister to take on board the findings of the tribunal and not allow Seymour’s legislation to progress any further.
“If Luxon truly respects our founding relationship, iwi Māori and te reo Māori, he must ensure that a bill that mistranslates Te Tiriti is never put before our Parliament.
‘Uphold mana of Te Tiriti’
“We call on the Prime Minister to step up for the good of our nation and uphold the dignity, meaning and integrity of our founding agreement.
“Upholding Te Tiriti is about rectifying the wrongs of our past, challenging the injustices of our present, and building a country that provides for everybody,” Abel said.
Waititi had a warning for Luxon if he ignored the Waitangi tribunal’s recommendations.
“The government have so far ignored all evidence and advice that contradicts their short-sighted anti-Māori, anti-poor and anti-taiao policy platform.
“If Luxon ignores these recommendations he will go down in history as having led the most anti-Māori government in generations” Waititi said.