Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill

Te Ururoa Flavell, Mema Paremata mo te Waiariki

Ra Apa 26 Hongoingoi 2006

Anei ke te timatanga mai o te pukapuka whakamarama o te Puni Kokiri mo nga matapono o te Tiriti o Waitangi- he rangi ta Matawhaiti he rangi ta Matawhanui.

Me kii, ki te whaiti te titiro, he whaiti ano hoki te paerangi ka whai haeretia e ia. Mena e whanui ana te titiro, ka whanui ano hoki nga huarahi ki a koe.

Kua tae mai te Paati Maori ki tenei pire a Mema, me te mohio ano hoki, me titiro whanui ke tatou ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi hei kupu taketake o Aotearoa.

Ko te mate o tenei pire, he whaiti ke tona titiro ki te Tiriti, ki tona itinga rawa- he aronga whaiti, he pae tata tona.

Ko ta te Tiriti, he waihanga i te ahua o te whenua nei, hei puna ora, me kii kia whai mana ai te tu o te Kawanatanga. He kupu era e whakamarama nei i te aronga o te karauna ki te tangata whenua- kia noho kohatu te tino rangatiratanga o te iwi, kia noho pumau te whenua Maori i roto nga ringaringa Maori, kia pumau te rangatiraranga o te tangata.

Na Ta Robin Cooke, te perehetini o Te Kooti Pira te korero:

"Koia te kupu whakahirahira rawa i roto i nga korero o nehera i Aotearoa nei, e kore e taea te tuku i ona pou."

Engari i tenei pire, ko tana mahi ko te tapahi i te pito, ko te tuku i te motu kia rewa. Ko tana mahi ko te ukui i nga kupu o te tiriti i nga ture katoa o Aotearoa. Ara, mai i nga kupu taki, i nga whakamarama, i nga kupu apiti, i nga whakaritenga, me etahi atu o nga Whakatau a ture.

Anei te patai nui. He aha te mea kawa, kino ranei o te whakaaro kia noho tonu mai enei maataapono, o te whakanui ranei i te tiriti hei tuuaapapa mo Aotearoa?

Koia nei ta te Paati Maori tu. Me waiho ko te Tiriti o Waitangi hei tuuaapapa mo te motu kia whakatinana i te moemoea, ara ki whai wahi ai nga taha e rua ara a Maori raua ko Pakeha i roto i nga whakahaere o te motu.

Me kii, i tae aa tangata whenua atu o matou tupuna ki te tiriti. E ai ki a ratou, he mana taketake ano o ratou. E ai ki to ratou titiro, he mana ake to te Tiriti, he whanui tonu tona titiro kia noho ia hei korowai, hei kupu oati mo nga tangata katoa e noho nei i Aotearoa.

Kei tona hohonutanga, ko te tiriti he whakawhitinga o nga whakatau i waenganui i nga tangata whai rangatiratanga, katahi ka puta etahi here ki runga ki tena ki tena. I tenei wa, ko te ahua nei, kei te hiahia tetahi o nga hoahaere o te tiriti kia puta.

Ko te noho a rangapuu i raro i te Tiriti, he mea tupunga, ehara i te mea kohatu.

I te take a whenua i te tau 1987, ko ta te Kooti Pira whakamarama, ko te tikanga "he mea whaioranga" te tiriti, he mea hanga hei tuapapa mo te nohonga ngatahi i waenga i te Maori me te Karauna. Ano nei he kakano, kaua ko tetahi mea kua tupu ke, kia taea ai te tapiri atu i nga whakaaro".

Kia tupu taua kakano ki tona puawaitanga, me whakairi te tiriti hei mea ora, he mea akiaki, kia here i te nohonga tahi o te tangata mo ake nei.

Engari kia tau mai a raruraru, ko te ahua nei ko te mahi o te hoa ko te oma atu i nga whakatau i whakaritea.

Ko ta te Takuta Brash nei i mua o te pooti matua kua hipa, ko te whakairi i te haki ma, ko te tuohu i te mahunga ano hoki, ano nei ka hinga ratou. Hei tana, ka ukuia katoatia nga korero porangi, nga korero kaikiri a iwi, otira ko nga whakapuakanga a matapono 39 I nga ture katoa.

I te taenga atu ki te wa whiriwhiri ko wai te hunga ka noho hei hoa kawanatanga, ko ta te roopu reipa, ko te whiu atu i tona aronga ki te tiriti, a, anei te utu. Ko te utu e korerohia ake nei ko te tautoko i tenei pire me tana haere ki te komiti whaiti.

Ka mutu na runga i tona hiahia tuturu nei kia kitea mai ai I a ia I nga nupepa, pouaka whakaata, kua tukuna ko ta Winitana Pita Pire ara te mea i hinga i te Pipiri o te tau kua hipa, i raro i te ingoa o Doug Woolerton.

Ko te mate ke, i tenei wa tonu nei, i te wa e noho ngoikore nei tatou i roto i te ao torangapu, e ai ki tetahi rangahau o te Komihana o nga Tari Kawanatanga, 57 o rau o tatou o Aotearoa nei i kii, mena he kaha ake to tatou mohio mo te tiriti, ma reira, kua marama to tatou noho i te whenua nei me ona korero, hitori katoa.

I tetahi atu mahi rangahau, ko tana i kite ai, ko tera i kii nei, he pai ake te matatau o te hunga i raro i te 30 tau mo te tiriti ki tera o etahi atu ropu, ka mutu tata atu ki te whitu tekau o rau o ngai Maori i kii he ahua pai to tatou mohio mo te tiriti, engari mo te Pakeha, ko te toru tekau ma iwa o rau ke.

Ara noa atu nga painga mena ka ata titiro tenei Paremata ki te hunga I raro I te toru tekau tau, ki te titiro ki a Ngai Maori, ki te titiro ki nga hapori kia kite mai ai, kaore he take o te tu whakahiihii tonu, ko te aro ke ki nga nupepa. He rereke tonu tera momo tu ki tera e hiahiatia ana e tatou o Aotearoa whanui.

E kore rawa te Pati Maori e noho whakamuri, e noho wahangu ranei i te whare Paremata nei. Ko ta matou ke ko te kokiri i nga take kua puta mai i te hapori i te iwi. Kia tae rano ki te wa, ka noho te tiriti hei mea wananga i waenganui i te Karauna me te Maori, ka tu tonu te Tiriti i tona mana, ka ora mo ake nei.

Ko te wahanga o nga matapono, ko te tohu ii nga here o te Tiriti, i nga kawenga i nga hononga mo nga hoa e rua. E kore te Paati Maori e tautoko i te pire nei.

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Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill

Te Ururoa Flavell, Member of Parliament for Waiariki

26 July 2006

Te Puni Kokiri's recent guide to the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi begins with the following words: He Rangi tä Matawhaiti, he rangi ta Matawhanui.

The person with a narrow vision sees a narrow horizon. The person with a wide vision sees a wide horizon.

The Maori Party comes to this Private Members Bill, acutely aware of the need for an all-embracing approach to Te Tiriti o Waitangi to be viewed as the founding document of Aotearoa.

The Bill, however, restricts the view of the Treaty to its most minimalist state - a narrow vision for a narrow future.

The Treaty gives shape to this nation - as a key source of the Government's moral and political claim to legitimacy - and as a document which articulates the commitment of the Crown to tangata whenua - their tino rangatiratanga preserved, Maori land ownership emphasized, their chiefly authority protected.

It is a document of which Sir Robin Cooke, the then President of the Court of Appeal said

"It is simply the most important document in New Zealand's history....a nation cannot cast adrift from its own foundations"

And yet this Bill today, is prepared to cut those ties, to cast the nation adrift by eliminating from all New Zealand statutes; all preambles, interpretations, schedules and regulations and other provisos any reference to principles.

One has to ask - what is so 'offensive' about the concept of having principles, or honouring the Treaty as the basis of our constitutional platform for Aotearoa?

The Maori Party stands for Te Tiriti o Waitangi providing the base for constitutional change in our nation so that shared governance becomes a reality.

Our tupuna entered into te Tiriti as indigenous people with sovereign rights. They saw the Tiriti as having both the capacity and the mana to act as a constitutional document for all people who live in this country.

At its very heart, the Treaty is an exchange of promises between sovereign peoples, giving rise to obligations for each party. A promise which one part of the partnership is now trying to pull out from.

As with any partnership, the Treaty partnership is forever evolving.

In the Lands Case in 1987, the Court of Appeal suggested that the Treaty should be interpreted as a 'living instrument', laying the foundation for "an ongoing partnership" between Maori and the Crown, which should be seen as "an embryo rather than a fully developed and integrated set of ideas".

Nurturing that embryo into full life, requires the Treaty to be a living and dynamic document, to secure an enduring partnership.

But when the going gets tough - it seems some parts of the partner are running from their responsibilities.

Dr Brash flew the white flag of defeat, well before the election, stating they would remove what he called 'racial nonsense', any references to the principles from 39 pieces of legislation.

When it came time to stitch together a coalition Government, Labour was prepared to throw away its so-called commitment to the Treaty by agreeing to support this Bill going to select committee.

And in a desperate attempt to get some media attention in this country, Winston Peter's Bill, which was last voted down in June 2005, resurfaces under the name of Doug Woolerton.

And yet, ironically, at a time when we have reached an all-time low in political support, in a survey commissioned by the State Services Commission, 57 percent of New Zealanders said that greater knowledge about the Treaty would help many New Zealanders have a better understanding of our country and its history.

Another survey found that New Zealanders aged under 30 had higher levels of knowledge about the Treaty than other groups, and that almost three quarters of Maori said they knew a lot or a reasonable amount about the Treaty, compared with 39% of non-Maori.

Wouldn't it be great, if for once, this Parliament was able to look to New Zealanders under thirty; to look to Maori, to look to the public and recognise that their political point-scoring and headline grabbing is completely out of sync with what New Zealanders want.

The Maori Party will not reneg on our responsibilities as part of Parliament - and also to our constituency, tangata whenua. We respect the fact that unless and until it is freely renegotiated between the Crown and Maori, the Treaty stands; it continues in being.

The principles serve a vital purpose of symbolising and articulating Treaty commitments, responsibilities and relationships for two partners. The Maori Party will not be supporting this Bill to remove them.

ENDS

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