John Armstrong: Little tackles very thorny issue

Andrew Little speaks during a leadership meeting for the Labour Party. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Brave or foolhardy? Being seen to go into bat for a matter which polarises the nation to the extent that Maori sovereignty does is not for the faint-hearted.

So Andrew Little was taking a huge risk with his Waitangi Day remarks on Maori self-governance.

The Labour leader was lucky not to have been buried under a deluge of outrage and criticism from those convinced Maori already get too many privileges.

Maybe it was the timing - a long weekend when people's minds are elsewhere. Maybe it is a sign that voters are still not listening to what Labour has to say.

Whatever, there was little public reaction to Little stressing that a discussion needs to begin on the future of the Treaty relationship once all iwi have settled their claims with the Crown, the target date for that being 2017. Moreover, he went as far as saying that discussion would have to include matters like Maori sovereignty and self-governance.

Little's argument is that the Treaty is not going to go into hibernation just because the settlement process is finally over. As a constitutional document, the Treaty will continue to be relevant - and not necessarily in ways that might be expected.

Last year's Waitangi Tribunal report which concluded that Maori who signed the Treaty did not cede sovereignty to the British Crown was a case in point.

It was something that would have to be explored - but without compromising the democratic institutions of the modern nation state.

Little referred to overseas examples of indigenous peoples being given official authority over matters or territory over which they have effective control.

Little would be wise not to misinterpret the absence of a backlash from those who feel Maori already get too much special treatment as a green light for tip-toeing down the self-government road. He won't. He only needs to look in his own backyard to realise that even mentioning Maori sovereignty is hugely risky. Or, rather what would have been his backyard had he won the seat of New Plymouth at last year's election.

That city's mayor looks set to pay the ultimate political price for pushing for guaranteed Maori representation on the local council.

In various interviews, Little has picked his words very carefully, lest what he says is deliberately misinterpreted. He has been very careful to argue only that a discussion is needed - not the direction that debate should take.

What he was doing had less to do with Maori sovereignty, however, and much more to do with displaying evidence of real leadership on the most difficult of issues - rather than the cautious, play-it-safe style of leadership exhibited by John Key which saw the Prime Minister rule out any form of Maori self-government as separatist, plain and simple.