Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership a ‘misinterpretation’, David Seymour believes

Act party leader David Seymour says his party does not regard Te Tiriti o Waitangi - the Treaty of Waitangi - as a partnership between Māori and the Crown.

More than 10,000 people gathered at Tūrangawaewae Marae on Saturday, issuing a united call against proposed reforms.

David Seymour told Midday Report he believed Te Tiriti o Waitangi was a founding document, but the idea that it is a partnership is based on a misinterpretation.

“It is a document that founds New Zealand as a country, where in Article 1 the Government has the right to govern, in Article 2 we each have the right to tino rangatiratanga - the right to flourish in self-chosen ways - and in Article 3 we all have nga tikanga katoa rite tahi, or the same.”

“We don’t regard the treaty as a partnership, that’s a misinterpretation that has grown out of the land’s decision nearly 40 years ago now.

“I think it’s important to recognise that we’re not actually in the 1970s. New Zealand is a modern, multi-ethnic liberal democratic state with people from all different types of backgrounds and all different characteristics, many of which have actually got nothing to do with their race.”

Seymour said New Zealand society needed to stop “framing everything as being a binary racial relationship.

“The sooner I think New Zealand is going to make a lot more progress.”

He said the treaty is a document that founds New Zealand as a country.

Lawyer and environmentalist Dayle Takitimu of Te Whānau ā Apanui provided in-depth context for attendees at the national hui aa iwi before they attended a series of workshops focused on priority areas for Māori. Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the proposed reforms was one of those forums.

In her speech, Takitimu accused the Government of racism and being “treaty illiterate”.

Seymour said he disagreed with the comments, and planned to continue his advancement of reforms for “benefit of all New Zealanders”.

He said he looked forward to participating in further debate when he attended Waitangi celebrations next month.

Speaking this afternoon to Newstalk ZB’s Heather Du Plessis-Allan, Seymour said he wasn’t happy Minister for Māori Crown Relations Tama Potaka had confirmed the National Party wouldn’t support Act’s proposed treaty principles bill before it could become law.

“The commitment is we’re going to introduce a bill, we’re going to debate it and actually nobody’s ruled out either way whether the bill carries on,” he said.

“[Prime Minister Christopher Luxon] has said on several occasions that he has no commitment to taking it further, they have not ruled out, that they could change their minds.”

Seymour added: “Ultimately the only way that we’re going to get the unity that New Zealanders crave is actually having some honest discussion without being accused of being racist.

“I suspect the idea might end up being a bit more popular in Parliament than some people are indicating at the end of the day.”

He said the plan was to introduce the bill in May.