A former Ashburton councillor says the Treaty Principles Bill is a waste of taxpayer money, especially as councils are being told to rein in their own spending.
Ashburton’s Selwyn Price (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa) said the controversial Treaty Bill has been divisive and unnecessary.
It was also hypocritical for the Government to support the Bill through its first reading when Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called on councils to cut back on wasteful spending earlier this year, Price said.
“[The Bill is] not only wasted time, but you can imagine how many tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, the actual process has cost.”
He said he backed much of what former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley said about the Treaty Bill, but disagreed it would invite civil war.
“I certainly agree it’s very divisive. [The Bill] is misinterpreting both the context and wording of the original treaty,” he said.
“The only upside is that it has united Māori.”
Dame Jenny told RNZ on Saturday that the ACT Party was “inviting civil war” by attempting to define the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in law.
Dame Jenny, a former Ashburton MP and National Party leader, said Māori had every right to fight the bill.
“I caution New Zealand – the minute you put the Treaty into a political framework in its totality, you are inviting civil war.
“I would fight against it. Māori have every reason to fight against it,” she told RNZ.
Price said the Treaty Bill is unnecessary as The National Party made a coalition promise to support the bill on its first reading, but would vote it down at the next step.
A hīkoi against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill arrived in Wellington on Tuesday.
Price had been preparing to go to Wellington to join the hīkoi this week until the bill was introduced earlier than scheduled, passing its first reading in Parliament on Thursday.
Speaking on Newstalk ZB on Monday, Seymour responded that Shipley was “grossly irresponsible” to say he was inviting civil war with his bill.
He said Shipley and other critics, like former Treaty negotiations minister Chris Finlayson, had a responsibility “in creating today’s reality”.
“Now Jenny Shipley and Chris Finlayson have fostered that belief that New Zealand is a partnership between two collectives, which in turn are defined by ancestry.
“It’s never worked anywhere in the world, it’s not working here,” he told Newstalk ZB.
When the Bill passed its first reading last week, Seymour said
he looked forward to seeing what Kiwis have to say during the select committee process.
“The purpose of the Treaty Principles Bill is for Parliament to define the principles of the Treaty, provide certainty and clarity, and promote a national conversation about their place in our constitutional arrangements.”
