15,000 Movers And Shakers Can’t Be Wrong

National Maori Tertiary Students’ Association

15,000 Movers And Shakers Can’t Be Wrong

Representatives of Te Mana Akonga, the National Maori Tertiary Students Association, will present their submission to the Select Committee handling the ill-fated Foreshore and Seabed Bill late tomorrow afternoon.

“It is vital for Maori students nation-wide that we take a strong position on this Bill that seeks to once again make raupatu (confiscation) a modern day reality for Maori”, said Kaituhono of the Association Dr. Helen Potter. “We represent the voices of 15,000 Maori movers and shakers, and we are united in our vehement opposition to this Bill that does nothing more than sanction and legalise theft”.

The submission outlines six points of opposition to the proposed legislation and explores clause by clause the likely impact of it on the sustainability of rangatiratanga for Maori, a right upheld by Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

“Maori tertiary students form an important cog in the wheel of Maori development as part of our whanau, hapu and iwi, and it is important that we take our place in this process”, said Dr. Potter. “Thousands of students joined the hikoi to Parliament in May, and we will continue to publicly oppose any moves by any government that seeks to diminish our basic and fundamental rights as Maori in Aotearoa”.

ENDS

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