It seems that ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill is a dead duck politically, as both NZ First and National get squirrelly over the bill and both have said they won’t support the bill.
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has delivered a guarantee to the Kiingitanga that NZ First will not support the ACT Party’s Treaty Principles Bill.
As politicians were welcomed to Turangawaewae Marae this afternoon, Kiingitanga advisor Tukoroirangi Morgan asked for ministers to guarntee [sic] that they would not support the Treaty Principles Bill past its first reading in Parliament.
Jones gave that guarantee, at the conclusion of his speech on the marae atea.
“If you have any concerns that the bill may prevail... you must be expressing your concerns about the parties of the Opposition... not New Zealand First,” he said.
He said NZ First would support its introduction, because of the “scripture” that was the coalition agreements.
“There is no ambiguity, no doubt, that the bill you refer to – the Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill – will not be voted for by New Zealand First after its introduction to Parliament,” Jones told Morgan.
He said NZ First’s hands would [sic] tied to start with, and they had no choice but to support the bill’s introduction to Parliament. But by promising not to support it to become law, Jones said the bill would effectively be dead on arrival.
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