No exemptions from Treaty – Maori Party
Co-leader Dr Pita Sharples 30 January 2012

The Maori Party has described Government plans to remove Treaty protections from the sale of four SOEs as ‘selling Treaty rights to the highest bidder’.

“The whole Treaty settlement process, and all the progress made over the past 25 years, has largely been driven by the Treaty clauses in the SOE Act, and we must not allow the government to dump those protections in order to get a better price for the power companies,” said Co-leader Dr Pita Sharples.

“Since the famous ‘Lands’ case in 1987[1], these Treaty protections have kept economic and strategic assets of huge value in New Zealand hands, including farming and forestry land, fishing quota and broadcasting spectrum,” he said.

“What’s good for Maori is good for Aotearoa. The Treaty not only protects the rights of tangata whenua, it also protects the sovereignty and independence of New Zealand as a whole.

“The planned sale of power companies raises issues of ownership and management of fresh water and other natural resources, which are still under discussion between iwi and the Crown.

“If the government is committed to acting in accordance with Treaty principles, and it is to remain the majority shareholder in the SOEs, then why do we need to remove Treaty protections anyway?” Dr Sharples asked.

"We welcome the government's decision to consult Maori, which carries a legal obligation to take Maori views into account. And we urge iwi to defend their Treaty rights through the consultation process,” he said.

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[1] (New Zealand Maori Council v Attorney General [1987] 1 NZLR 641 (HC and CA))

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E tika ana kia toro atu te kawanatanga ki nga iwi mo tenei take; kia kaha nga iwi ki te whakaputa korero a tona wa.

Heoi ano, ko enei o matou whakaaro o te Torangapu Maori:
- Ko nga mahi katoa ki te whakatau i nga take Tiriti, me nga painga katoa kua riro mai ki nga iwi i nga tau rua tekau ma rima kua hipa, he mea haumaru i whakapumautia i roto i te ture nei e ngā tikanga o te Tiriti; no reira kia kaua rawa tātou e hoko atu i enei tikanga.
- Ki te wetekina nga here o te Tiriti, ka raruraru a iwi-kē na te mea ka riro ma ngā iwi whai rawa te kupu whakamutunga. Engari mo ngā iwi e tārewa tonu ana ō rātou take – ka mahue kētia rātou.
- Kua puea ake enei whakanekeneke i te whakaaro, na te panga o nga iwi ki enei rawa, ka heke te utu ki te kawanatanga. E tautokona e te ao whānui nga tikanga tuku iho a te tangata whenua, ahakoa kaore ano te kawanatanga kia whakaae mai.

Heoi ano, e mea ana matou, me karangatia enei hui ki runga i nga marae o nga iwi, tae atu ki Ngati Kahungunu, ki Taranaki, ki te Tauihu o te Waka a Maui hoki; me kaua ki nga hotera nunui.

ENDS

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