Te Tai Tonga’s Tākuta Ferris has submitted a Member’s Bill into the ballot to empower the Waitangi Tribunal but NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones says the “Big Mac” upsizing approach will not work.
The Treaty of Waitangi (Empowerment of Waitangi Tribunal) Amendment Bill would make tribunal recommendations binding on the Crown. If it got enough votes, it would also allow the tribunal to consider all proposed legislation to ensure consistency with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Ferris, Te Pāti Māori’s Te Tiriti spokesman, said changes would allow the tribunal to properly fulfil its role as the kaitiaki of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“The three-headed taniwha Government has made it very clear that the Waitangi Tribunal needs to be empowered. In only eight months, Māori have been sent back 70 years.
“This bill reflects the reality that Te Tiriti o Waitangi underpins, and allows for, democracy in Aotearoa.
“Māori consented to kāwanatanga on the basis that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is continuously honoured, and that the promises contained within it are kept.
“Te iwi Māori must remember that this consent is ongoing – it can be revoked at any time.
“I would expect the Government parties to support this bill to retain the goodwill of our people and to stop themselves from eroding the foundation of their continued existence.
“If the Government cannot be trusted to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi on their own, we must empower the Waitangi Tribunal to keep them in line,” Ferris said.
But NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones said the Waitangi Tribunal’s days are limited.
“Contrast Te Pāti Māori and NZ First. We want to downsize the Waitangi Tribunal; they want to give it a Big Mac approach and upsize,” Jones told the Herald.
“This bill is simply a backward-looking stunt. It feeds the mentality of victimhood.
“The high-tide mark of tribal claims is over. Economic development will trump culture wars. We must deliver practical results that improve income, skills and security.”
Jones said Māori approaching him were feeling like Martians.
“Māori Party voters are telling me they have buyer’s remorse because the rhetoric is alienating.
“I think Māori realise now there is no future in the eternal hikoi.”
He urged Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi “to take a chill pill and reject victimhood”.
- NZ Herald