"By saying Māori didn’t cede sovereignty, Chris Hipkins is calling for a divided New Zealand", says ACT Leader David Seymour.

"The only way this works is to have two states, with some citizens not part of the state ruled by the New Zealand Government. It implies a separate Māori Government, like He Puapua proposed.

"This is as divisive as it gets, and is totally unnecessary for self-determination. ACT is the party that, more than any other, promotes self-determination. Not only does ACT support self-determination for Māori to live on their own terms, we support self-determination for every single New Zealander.

"If Chris Hipkins said communities should be free to take control of their education, whether ethnically based or not – like Māori, Pacific, and other communities did with charter schools – we would agree with him. But if he believed this, he wouldn’t have closed charter schools.

"He has learned nothing from his Government’s divisive tenure.

"What Chris Hipkins will never be able to explain is, how does New Zealand work according to his framework of different groups with different basic rights?"

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