Te Tai Tonga Takuta Ferris. Photo / RNZ
Te Tai Tonga’s Tākuta Ferris has submitted a Member’s Bill into the ballot to empower the Waitangi Tribunal but NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones says the “Big Mac” upsizing approach will not work.
The Treaty of Waitangi (Empowerment of Waitangi Tribunal) Amendment Bill would make tribunal recommendations binding on the Crown. If it got enough votes, it would also allow the tribunal to consider all proposed legislation to ensure consistency with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Ferris, Te Pāti Māori’s Te Tiriti spokesman, said changes would allow the tribunal to properly fulfil its role as the kaitiaki of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“The three-headed taniwha Government has made it very clear that the Waitangi Tribunal needs to be empowered. In only eight months, Māori have been sent back 70 years.
“This bill reflects the reality that Te Tiriti o Waitangi underpins, and allows for, democracy in Aotearoa.
“Māori consented to kāwanatanga on the basis that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is continuously honoured, and that the promises contained within it are kept.
“Te iwi Māori must remember that this consent is ongoing – it can be revoked at any time.
“I would expect the Government parties to support this bill to retain the goodwill of our people and to stop themselves from eroding the foundation of their continued existence.
“If the Government cannot be trusted to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi on their own, we must empower the Waitangi Tribunal to keep them in line,” Ferris said.
But NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones said the Waitangi Tribunal’s days are limited.
“Contrast Te Pāti Māori and NZ First. We want to downsize the Waitangi Tribunal; they want to give it a Big Mac approach and upsize,” Jones told the Herald.
“This bill is simply a backward-looking stunt. It feeds the mentality of victimhood.
“The high-tide mark of tribal claims is over. Economic development will trump culture wars. We must deliver practical results that improve income, skills and security.”
Jones said Māori approaching him were feeling like Martians.
“Māori Party voters are telling me they have buyer’s remorse because the rhetoric is alienating.
“I think Māori realise now there is no future in the eternal hikoi.”
He urged Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi “to take a chill pill and reject victimhood”.
Act leader David Seymour agrees.
“Te Pāti Māori’s member’s bill would give an unelected tribunal supremacy over our elected Parliament,” Seymour said.
“The Tribunal has already become increasingly activist, using its ‘partnership’ interpretation of the Treaty to intervene in democratic processes. It’s no surprise Te Pāti Māori wants to give them more power. The Tribunal appears to regard itself as a parallel government that can intervene in the actual Government’s policymaking process, but it should always be the voters who have the final say.
“New Zealanders are sick of seeing the Treaty twisted for political gain like this. It’s exactly why ACT is drafting a Treaty Principles Bill, to define what the principles actually mean and restore the Treaty’s promise of the equal rights for all New Zealanders.”
He said the Treaty of Waitangi “gives all New Zealanders Tino Rangatiratanga, the right to self-determine and live on our own terms.
“All New Zealanders should be valued equally, regardless of their race or the date they arrived here,” he said.
“New Zealanders have elected a government to restore the economy, get crime under control, provide effective public services, and end division through co-government. The sooner Te Pāti Māori come to terms with what New Zealand voted for and starts providing some policy solutions that will help people instead of divisive theatrics that cause more division, the better.
“This stunt legislation is par for the course from Te Pāti Māori, but it’s a real test for Labour and the Greens. If they still have an ember of belief in democracy, they need to strongly oppose this bill.”