Toby Whittaker
Although unlikely to be passed into law, the ACT Party’s Treaty Principles Bill has certainly exposed some ugly facets of New Zealand politics – from the uncivilised and barbarous disruption of parliament by Māori Party MPs (cheered on by Labour and the Greens) to the cowardice of the Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, in promising to “support” the bill through its first reading and select committee hearings but then, after being ‘got at’ by tribal thugs at Waitangi on 6 February, he ran backwards like a frightened rat.
In the words of Dr John Robinson in his latest book, Who Really Broke the Treaty?:
To any reasonable person this (‘support’) implies positive support throughout that stage, with further action guided by the report of the select committee ... All submissions would be listened to by the select committee and parliament, so we were led to believe. No way. Luxon announced in no uncertain terms that National would not support the bill, no matter what the public opinion is. David Seymour then commented sensibly that only after the public has spoken will a final decision be made.
Why would people bother to make a submission when they have been told by Luxon that whatever they say will not be listened to?
Worse still, National has embarked on a campaign of lies to discredit this worthy bill, with the Minister for Treaty Negotiations, Paul Goldsmith, apparently being given the role of chief. In an email to well-known writer and commentator Amy Brooke, Goldsmith wrote, “Successive National governments have worked well with Māori while ensuring equal citizenship and equal opportunity for all New Zealanders.”
Goldsmith entered parliament as a National List MP in 2011, having previously worked for the biased Waitangi Tribunal. Below is a list of statutes that the National Government (including Goldsmith) voted for; statutes that grant considerable race-based rights to those of part-Māori descent over and above all other New Zealanders.
Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012 – decisions to be informed by a Māori perspective and hearings must recognise tikanga Māori where appropriate and receive oral or written evidence in Māori.
National Animal Identification and Tracing Act 2012 – values to be protected include the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, waters, sites, wāhi tapu and taonga.
Nga Wai o Maniapoto (Waipa River Act) 2012 – an anti-democratic co-governance entity set up to manage the Waipa, many of the appointments being race based with part-Māori only.
Ngāti Manuhiri Claims Settlement Act 2012 – another co-governance racket giving certain race-based appointments to part-Māori only.
Game Animals Council Act 2013 – council members must have knowledge of and experience relating to Māori ‘hunting interests’.
Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013 – majority of members of an appointed territorial authority panel must have knowledge of and expertise in relation to planning, design, and engineering and appropriate knowledge and experience relating to the Treaty of Waitangi and tikanga Māori.
Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Act 2013 – a parliamentary pardon for the murderers of Reverend Carl Völkner in Ōpōtiki in 1866. The mastermind of this atrocity was Kereopa te Rau of the Ngāti Rangiwewehi clan of the Arawa tribe who hailed from the north-west shore of Rotorua. In the words of James Cowan, the leading historian of the Māori wars, “He was a thoroughgoing old savage, and he quickly plunged into the worst excesses, even cannibalism.” Völkner, who had ministered to the local Māori for several years, was beheaded and, in the words of Captain Levy of the Eclipse who was present, “The natives then formed themselves into a line and prepared to taste the blood as it ran out of the head and body.”
They then gathered inside Völkner’s church and Kereopa, dressed in Völkner’s long black robe, placed the dripping head on the reading desk and filled the communion cup with Volkner’s blood. This was then passed around and drunk. From the pulpit Kereopa ate Volkner’s eyes in front of about a hundred natives. Four of the murderers, Mokomoko, Heremita, Kahupaea and Kereopa, were put on trial, convicted and hanged. But on 21 June, 2014, the National Government, of which Goldsmith was a part, pardoned the murderers for their horrific crime – a murder that was also witnessed by settlers. Then, to drive home the insult to Völkner’s memory even further, this same National Government of 2014 gave six million dollars of taxpayers’ money plus a forest and several valuable hot springs around Rotorua to Kereopa’s tribe.
Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Act 2013 – claims, “The relationship between Ngāti Whātua and the Crown was founded on the partnership created in 1840 through the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.” This is a lie, There was no partnership of any kind.
Patents Act 2013 – established a Māori Advisory Committee, whose members must have knowledge of mātauranga and tikanga, to advise on patent applications.
Arts Council of NZ Toi Aotearoa Act 2014 – at least four members must have knowledge of te ao Maori and tikanga. The council must recognise in the arts “the role of Māori as tangata whenua”.
NZ Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Act 2014 – declared that the 1852 Crown grant that awarded the land to the Church Mission Society was in breach of the “Treaty principle of active protection”, even though there is no such principle in the Treaty and, in fact, such ‘principles’ were only invented in 1986!
Tapuika Claims Settlement Act 2014 – set up co-governance of the Kaituna River: the authority must acknowledge the interests of iwi.
Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga Act 2014 – scientific investigation of any site of interest to Māori requires the consent of iwi and hapū.
Environmental Reporting Act 2014 – requires that synthesis and domain reports “are informed by a Māori perspective” and that regulations cannot be made without consultation with iwi authorities.
Hawkes Bay Regional Planning Committee Act 2015 – an anti-democratic statute that requires co-governance between “mana whenua and elected representatives” overseeing development and review of Resource Management Act documents. The committee’s standing orders “must not contravene tikanga Māori” (whatever that means).
Ngāi Takoto Claims Settlement Act 2015, Te Aupōuri Claims Settlement Act 2015 and Te Rarawa Claims Settlement Act 2015 – all these acts give tribal rights over conservation land – land that should belong to all New Zealanders.
Environmental Canterbury (Transitional Governance Arrangements) Act 2016 – two members of the powerful transitional governing body must be nominees of the Ngāi Tahu tribe and must have knowledge of and expertise in relation to tikanga.
Hurunui/Kaikōura Earthquakes Recovery Act 2016 – members of the Recovery Review Panel to have knowledge of mātauranga and tikanga.
Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori Language Act 2016 – states (falsely) that the Māori language is protected by Article Two of the Treaty.
Land Transfer Act 2017 – an application for adverse possession cannot be made against Māori land – only against non-Māori land.
Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 – agreements to provide a mechanism for tangata whenua through iwi authorities to participate in resource and decision-making processes.
Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 – gives part-Māori considerable powers over the Whanganui River.
So, having voted for these and other measures doling out race-based privileges and resources to part-Māori at the expense of the rest of us, Goldsmith has the effrontery to declare that National Governments have ‘ensured equal citizenship and equal opportunity for all New Zealanders’. Was he asleep when he voted for all these pieces of racist legislation?
It is bad enough for the National Party to try to sabotage this bill that is designed to restore equality of citizenship to a country that has lost it over the years – thanks to National, Labour and our judges. But, please, Mr Goldsmith spare us the lie that National has given equality of citizenship and opportunity over the years when in fact it has done the exact opposite.
