Treaty Principles Bill: Margaret Mutu says bill ‘completely opposite’ to what Te Tiriti guarantees - The Front Page

University of Auckland Professor of Māori Studies Margaret Mutu.

A leading Māori studies professor believes the Government’s proposed legislation to define the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi has taken phrases out of context and is at odds with what the Treaty guarantees.

Last Friday a Ministry of Justice paper was leaked warning the Government’s proposed legislation to define the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi could be “highly contentious”.

The bill proposes introducing these three principles to Te Tiriti:

• The New Zealand Government has the right to govern all New Zealanders
• The New Zealand Government will honour all New Zealanders in the chieftainship of their land and all their property
• All New Zealanders are equal under the law with the same rights and duties

University of Auckland professor Margaret Mutu told The Front Page these phrases were mistranslated and “dressed up” as principles.

She said Te Tiriti was an invitation for Pākehā to live in this country, therefore the new Government’s first proposed principle regarding governance over all New Zealand was a “bare faced lie.

“Then in the next one to say that the Government will honour all New Zealanders in the chieftainship of their land, that is taking one particular phrase completely out of context.”

In response to the last principle, she said there is a tikanga that Pākehā have, but Māori will continue to exercise mana through tino rangatiratanga.

“What Article Three was meant to be was that the Queen of England would protect Māori from any attacks by Pākehā on us.”

Mutu attended also a national hui over the weekend, organised by the Māori King at Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia, and said it gave confidence back to Māori, “and made us remember why we’re proud to be Māori.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more from Margaret Mutu on what she makes of the Government’s Te Tiriti proposal and what went down at the hui over the weekend.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. This episode was presented by Katie Harris, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in social issues reporting who joined the Herald in 2020.

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