Labour’s Māori development spokesperson Willie Jackson has said his party welcomes the “scathing report” from the Waitangi Tribunal on the Treaty Principles Bill and Treaty clauses review.
“[ACT leader] David Seymour does not know what he is talking about. He is not an expert, nor has he consulted with Maori. How can you want a debate when the other Treaty partner is left out?
“Seymour needs to listen to ACT party supporter Matthew Hooten and not support this bill,” Jackson said in a statement.
Hooton had appeared earlier this year on Te Ao with Moana, slamming the bill alongside a former National minister of Treaty of Waitangi negotiations Chris Finlayson.
“The Treaty Principles Bill as it is currently written is nonsensical, without merit and is politically motivated,” Jackson said.
Those sentiments were shared in the interim Waitangi Tribunal report with its chair, Judge Caren Fox, saying the Treaty Principles Bill was “a solution to a problem that does not exist”.
“It is ‘novel’ in its Treaty interpretations; it is fashioned upon a disingenuous historical narrative; its policy rationales are unsustainable; and its current text distorts the language of the Treaty / Te Tiriti,” she wrote in the report.
Earlier today, the other opposition parties targeted Prime Minister Christopher Luxon telling him to stand up and put a stop to Seymour’s plans.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said it was time for Luxon to prove his worth as a leader and he couldn’t hide behind his coalition partners anymore.
“Either he has given full control of his government to David Seymour, or he is using the coalition agreement as an excuse to pursue his own anti-Māori agenda,” she said.
The Greens’ Māori and Crown relations spokesperson, Steve Abel, called for the prime minister to take on board the findings of the tribunal and not allow Seymour’s legislation to progress any further.
“We call on the Prime Minister to step up for the good of our nation and uphold the dignity, meaning and integrity of our founding agreement.
“Upholding Te Tiriti is about rectifying the wrongs of our past, challenging the injustices of our present, and building a country that provides for everybody,” Abel said.
Meanwhile, ACT leader David Seymour welcomed the tribunal’s “contribution to the debate”.
“We need a national conversation about our founding document.
“Are there two classes of New Zealanders in partnership, each with different rights? Or are we a modern democracy where all citizens have equal rights? I look forward to having that discussion over the next several months.
“My fundamental question is this: Where are the successful societies that treat people differently based on their ancestry? Many of the worst events in history came from treating humans based on their membership of a group,” Seymour wrote.
Acting Prime Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has been asked for comment.