The Prime Minister says there is NOTHING he likes about the Treaty Principles Bill.
NOTHING.
Presumably this includes Principle One that says:
| The Executive Government of New Zealand has full power to govern, and the Parliament of New Zealand has full power to make laws,— | |||
| (a) |
in the best interests of everyone; and |
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| (b) |
in accordance with the rule of law and the maintenance of a free and democratic society. |
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It seems pretty messed up for a prime minister to not want the power to govern and not support the rule of law or a free democratic society.
What about Principle Two?
| (1) |
The Crown recognises, and will respect and protect, the rights that hapū and iwi Māori had under the Treaty of Waitangi/te Tiriti o Waitangi at the time they signed it. |
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| (2) |
However, if those rights differ from the rights of everyone, subclause (1) applies only if those rights are agreed in the settlement of a historical treaty claim under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. |
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I have my own reservations about this one, but that’s because I worry it could be a loophole for race-based policy. I would have thought Luxon would agree with protecting the rights of Māori as agreed through Treaty settlements though!
Surely he must be mistaken about Principle Three though. No one could oppose this...
| (1) |
Everyone is equal before the law. |
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| (2) |
Everyone is entitled, without discrimination, to— |
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| (a) |
the equal protection and equal benefit of the law; and |
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| (b) |
the equal enjoyment of the same fundamental human rights. |
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We have big problems if our prime minister opposes equality before the law and human rights. What kind of tyrant is he?
I can't detect anything wrong with those three principles and that is all the Treaty Principles Bill is. The principles are faithful to what the Treaty of Waitangi explicitly says. The creative principles pulled out of thin air by the judiciary are far more outrageous.
The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Christopher Luxon doesn’t care that a majority of New Zealanders support the bill. Voters of National, New Zealand First, and ACT especially.
He is turning his back on the people that voted his government into power and what for? Pats on the head from the media? Well, tough luck, mate. The media are giving him grief regardless.
The media are acting like promoters of the hīkoi and protests. They are directing readers to meeting points and portraying the whole thing as a moral crusade. Not once have they asked the protestors to explain what they don’t like about the bill. Do they know what they are protesting about?
Is Luxon afraid of the Māori activists? We know that Toitū Te Tiriti (the group organising the hīkoi) is just an astroturf for Te Pāti Māori. They have never minced their words about how they feel about Luxon either.
I wonder how his MPs feel about him pandering to the media and Te Pāti Māori supporters, all of whom would rather eat glass than ever vote National. They must see the polling in support of the bill and wonder what the heck their leader is doing.
There will be a six month consultation process through the select committee on this bill. Thousands of New Zealanders will make submissions. Will the government even bother to read them? Christopher Luxon has repeatedly said that nothing will change his mind on the bill. Frankly, his casual refusal to listen to the views of New Zealanders is rude.
Regardless, we are building a tool to enable Hobson’s Pledge supporters to make meaningful Treaty Principles Bill submissions. We will get our perspectives on the record even if they aren’t respected by the prime minister.
But we also want the prime minister to understand how angry we are. We cannot afford for Luxon to be another John Key: taking our votes only to cowardly hide from dealing with tough race relations issues.
Christopher Luxon needs to remember who will vote him into a second term as prime minister. It won’t be radical Māori activists.
We are thinking about setting up a tool so that everybody can send letters to Luxon directly, so that everybody can let him know how we feel about how he is treating this bill and New Zealanders. What are your thoughts?
I’m keen to go hard on this. If National don’t get how important this is to us they will keep trampling over us. Do you think it’s time to stop playing nice?
I’m willing to call it what it is: weak leadership, cowardice, and really, really dumb.
If our supporters are keen to send a message to Luxon and give him a reality check, we will get the tool built and send you the link ASAP.
This article was originally published by Hobson’s Pledge.
