The Green Party is calling on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to abandon the Treaty Principles Bill following the Waitangi Tribunal’s scathing report on the proposed legislation.

“Our Te Tiriti is a taonga. It binds us together, it should not be used to drive us apart,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Māori development, Hūhana Lyndon.

“At Waitangi, Christopher Luxon told Māori that Te Tiriti was our past, present and future. If he truly meant what he said, he would not allow someone to attempt to re-write our history with such a lack of understanding and regard for this nation’s founding agreement. He would also not allow another member of his Government to remove Treaty Clauses from different pieces of legislation.

“We are calling on the Prime Minister to reject this uneducated and antiquated attempt to trample on the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It is high time that his rhetoric matched the reality of his actions when it comes to standing up for Te Tiriti. He has stood by and watched as Treaty protections were removed from state care, as the Māori Health Authority was scrapped and as Māori wards were essentially erased. It’s time to take a stand, Christopher.

“Te Tiriti o Waitangi affirms the rights of hapū to continue to care for their people and their taonga. It provides the foundations for an enduring relationship between Tanagta whenua and Tangata Tiriti. Losing sight of this would see us lose touch with the very core of our country,” says Hūhana Lyndon

“Upholding Te Tiriti is about rectifying the wrongs of our past, challenging the injustices of our present, and building a country that provides for everybody,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Māori and Crown Relations, Steve Abel.

“It is on all of us to honour our founding agreement. Luxon must take on board the findings of the Tribunal and not allow this Treaty-rewrite legislation to progress a step further.

“If Luxon truly respects our founding relationship, Iwi Māori and Te Reo Māori, he must ensure that a bill that mistranslates Te Tiriti is never put before our Parliament.

“We call on the Prime Minister to step up for the good of our nation and uphold the dignity, meaning and integrity of our founding agreement,” says Steve Abel.

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