Lady Tureiti Moxon: Commemorating Waitangi is about Crown congruence

The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Photo / via Alexander Turnbull Library

Opinion:

Whatever we may think of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its relevance in Aotearoa today, it still remains a contentious issue for many New Zealanders. However, whether we agree with it or not, it still remains New Zealand’s foundation document.

The aim of Te Tiriti, according to the late Moana Jackson, “is to restore the balance between Māori and the Crown guaranteed in the Treaty that Māori and the British Crown agreed to in 1840 so that we can live in peace and harmony”. From my perspective, this time of year is a reminder that we still have much more work to do to achieve “peace and harmony”.

In 2021 the Waitangi Tribunal released its Haumaru - Covid-19 Priority Report which stated that “because the power imbalance in the partnership between Māori and the Crown favours the Crown, it is the Crown’s responsibility to ensure Māori are not disadvantaged in the relationship”.

Lady Tureiti Moxon, one of the clamaints in the Waitangi Tribunal's Māori health inquiry, says New Zealand needs a new health system "by Māori for Māori". Photo / Michael Neilson

That power imbalance and the Crown’s continuous breaches of Te Tiriti have overwhelmingly disadvantaged Māori. We see this in the number of Māori who are pipelined into the state facilities such as Oranga Tamariki, prisons and mental institutions. The inequities in health, education, housing and income are widely evidenced.

As long as the Crown does not fully uphold the partnership, rangatiratanga and Māori Mana Motuhake of whānau, hapū and iwi, then inequities and injustices will continue. Courage and conscience are needed, as well as politics.

Commemorating Waitangi is about Crown congruence. That is uncompromising in its commitment. Actions speak louder than words.

It’s about a partnership of equals sharing power and resources and standing together side by side in mutual prosperity.

So if there was one goal we should perhaps consider for 2023, I would suggest learning about the history of our country and the actual meaning of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Lady Tureiti Moxon is a qualified lawyer, a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a former member of the Waitangi Tribunal. She was part of the Ngāti Pāhauwera negotiating team who were the first of the hapū of Ngāti Kahungunu to settle their historical Treaty claims with the Crown in 2012. An original claimant in various contemporary kaupapa claims in the Waitangi Tribunal (Wai 1315/2575) Hauora Stage One Claim, Oranga Tamariki (Wai 2941/ 2915) claim, and the Covid-19 response (Wai 2910) claim.