A convoy of demonstrators protesting government policies affecting Māori – including the contentious Treaty Principles Bill – is expected to reach Auckland tomorrow.
It comes just days ahead of the first reading of the legislation in Parliament on Thursday. The Greens on Monday called for it to be a conscience vote, allowing all MPs to voice their own opinion. Neither Christopher Luxon nor David Seymour supports that.
Activists in the Far North left Te Rerenga Wairua early on Monday morning as part of the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti (March for the Treaty of Waitangi). Their convoy visited several centres before arriving in Whangārei in the evening.
Organisers plan for the march to continue south over Tuesday, reaching Northcote in Auckland on Tuesday night. The protesters will end up at Parliament next Tuesday.
At a press conference on Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister said it was important New Zealanders had the right to a peaceful protest.
“We are expecting a large crowd. I certainly would urge everyone involved to stay safe and be safe.”
Luxon said he was open to meeting with protesters when they arrive at Parliament and understood the depth of feeling amongst them.
“There’s immense frustration in Maoridom around this Treaty Principles Bill and I understand why. I get that. Equally, as I have said, we are supporting it to first reading and won’t be supporting it beyond that.”
He said some protesters appeared “fearful” National would change its mind and support the legislation at second reading, but “we will not be changing our mind”.
The Treaty Principles Bill, advocated for by Act, seeks to clarify the principles of the Treaty so they can be more clearly interpreted in legislation.
While National opposed the policy on the election campaign, the party agreed during coalition negotiations to support the legislation to a select committee. Luxon has said that is as far as National will back the bill.
But Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick wants individual MPs to be able to put their stake in the ground, writing to the Speaker requesting he allow for a conscience vote.
A conscience vote means MPs don’t necessarily stick to party lines and can vote based on their own personal beliefs. They have been used on issues like same-sex marriage and abortion legislation.
“It’s time for the 123 members of this Parliament to take personal, individual responsibility for whether the Treaty Principles Bill nonsense goes any further,” Swarbrick said.
“During the election campaign, National MPs told the public they would not support this bill. Christopher Luxon now keeps saying that the party will definitely vote it down if it gets to second reading. The Prime Minister is telling us that he intends to whip his MPs to vote differently at first reading to what they campaigned on a year ago.”
Swarbrick said she was confident that if MPs were “genuinely free to vote their conscience, that they [would] vote this legislation down”.
“We have huge issues as a country, we have the greatest rates of wealth inequality on record. We have a housing crisis. The planet is on fire. Every month or so, we are confronted with a new climate change-charged weather event, especially in regional Aotearoa, New Zealand. This is the biggest waste of time for all of us to be pouring our energy into for the next few months.”
Seymour – the Act leader and Associate Justice Minister who is the architect of the Treaty Principles Bill – told the Herald he wouldn’t support having a conscience vote and it “wouldn’t achieve anything”.
“The coalition agreement states the Government will pass the bill to select committee and as a coalition we deliver on our commitments.”
He said he was looking forward to the first reading on Thursday.
“Every step towards equal rights in New Zealand is a step forward. The Treaty Principles Bill provides an opportunity for New Zealanders – rather than the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal – to have a say on what the Treaty means.
“Did the Treaty give different rights to different groups, or does every citizen have equal rights? I believe all New Zealanders deserve to have a say on that question.”
Luxon has repeatedly said since becoming Prime Minister that he doesn’t personally believe in the legislation but has explained that National’s support at first reading was an outcome of coalition negotiations in an MMP environment.
He said on Monday he wouldn’t support a conscience vote because National had a coalition commitment it needed to uphold.
Te Pāti Māori also said it had requested a conscience vote.
“This bill has profound implications on the rights and responsibilities relating to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and, by extension, the future of Aotearoa. For Māori, this legislation is not merely procedural; it touches on the constitutional agreement between te iwi Māori and the Crown,” the party said on Facebook.
“Granting a conscience vote would not only allow each member the opportunity to vote with their own moral and cultural convictions, but it would also enable iwi Māori to observe the individual positions held by MPs. Transparency!”
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he supported having a conscience vote.
“Christopher Luxon should vote against it because he said before the election that he disagreed with it, that he thought it was divisive, that it didn’t align with his values and principles and then, more or less straight after the election, signed a coalition agreement that committed to the National Party supporting it.
“Christopher Luxon prides himself on being a great deal maker. It’s not a great deal if you’re selling out your values and principles.”
The Waitangi Tribunal last week said the Treaty Principles Bill would be “the worst, most comprehensive breach of the Treaty/Te Tiriti in modern times”.
“At present, the progressing of the bill is having serious impacts on the relationship ... but the bill, if enacted, would kill that relationship.”
The report said Māori had been deliberately excluded from the consultation process of a policy that would “abrogate their fundamental rights”.
Swarbrick said the hikoi showed people “unifying around a vision for what our country could be if we worked together, tangata whenua, tangata te tiriti”.
“That is the hope that we want to move forward with as opposed to this unnecessary fight.”
Earlier on Monday, Police Minister Mark Mitchell said officers would “take action” against protesters if any laws were broken. But he said he had been assured the march would be a peaceful one.
“Depending on the numbers that join the hīkoi, there may be some disruption around traffic flow,” he told Newstalk ZB.
“But fundamentally, police have been very clear with organisers that if there are any breaches of the peace, if there is any sort of law broken, if any member of the public has their rights trampled over, then police will take action on that.”
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office.
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