Table of Contents
Wellington:
Native “HakaChants broke out in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, as tens of thousands of people opposed a bill that critics say would change the core of the country’s founding treaty and dilute the rights of the Maori people. Hikoi mo te Tiriti The march began ten days ago in the far north of the country, where bare-chested men draped in traditional feather cloaks, along with riders waving red, white and black Maori flags, marched towards the capital in one of the largest the country’s protests in recent decades.
The hikoi march culminated on Tuesday outside New Zealand’s parliament, where an estimated 35,000 people demonstrated, calling on lawmakers to reject the Treaty Principles Bill, which was introduced by the libertarian ACT New Zealand party earlier this month. The bill reportedly aims to redefine the Treaty of Waitangi – an 1840 agreement between the British and many, but not all, Maori tribes, which covers issues such as land and cultural rights.
Although the legislation has virtually no chance of being passed, as most parties in the island country have committed to voting it down, its mere introduction has sparked political unrest in the country and a debate over the rights of indigenous population has been revived.
Maoris and their history in New Zealand
The Maoris are considered the original settlers of the two large islands now known as New Zealand. They reportedly came from Eastern Polynesia on canoe trips around 1300 and settled on the then uninhabited islands. Over the centuries they developed their own culture and language. As of today, they are spread across New Zealand as part of various tribes.
The Maoris called the two islands where they lived Aotearoa. British colonists, who took control of the islands under the treaty in 1840, called it New Zealand. New Zealand became independent from the British in 1947.
Treaty of Waitangi
When the British Crown took control of New Zealand, it signed the Treaty of Waitangi (also called the Treaty of Waitangi). At Tiriti o Waitangi or plain At Tiriti)– the founding document listing approximately 500 Maori leaders, or rangatira.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, the document was originally presented as a measure to resolve differences between Maori and the British. However, the English and te reo versions of the treaty have some major differences, which reportedly caused Maori to continue to suffer injustice in New Zealand even after independence.
Under the reo Maori version of the treaty, Maori leaders have “rangatiratanga” or “self-determination”, which gives Maori people the right to govern themselves. However, the English translation says that the Maori leaders “absolutely and without reservation cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England all rights and powers of sovereignty,” according to the English translation. Al Jazeera report.
However, the English version gives the Maoris “complete exclusive and undisturbed possession of their lands and estates, forests and fisheries”. Despite this, by the time New Zealand gained independence, it was reported that 90 percent of Maori lands had been taken by the British Crown.
In 1975, the government established the Waitangi Tribunal, a permanent body to adjudicate treaty cases. The tribunal reportedly sought to remedy treaty violations and bridge the differences between the two treaty texts.
The Treaty Principles Bill
According to official data, there are currently 978,246 Maori living in New Zealand, making up about 19 percent of the country’s 5.3 million population. The Te Pati Maori, or Maori Party, represents them in parliament and has six of the 123 seats.
MP David Seymour, who is himself Maori, introduced the Treaty Principles Bill in Parliament. He is a member of the ACT party, a minor partner in New Zealand’s coalition government. Mr Seymour has long spoken out against the policy of positive discrimination aimed at helping Maori.
Mr Seymour’s party says the Treaty of Waitangi has been misinterpreted for decades, leading to the creation of a dual system for New Zealanders, in which Maori receive special treatment. The Treaty Principles Bill aims to put an end to “racial division” by giving specific definitions to the principles of the Treaty. These principles would then be applied to all New Zealanders, whether Maori or not.
Incumbent Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has spoken out against Seymour’s bill, meaning it is all but doomed to failure when it comes to a parliamentary vote. But former Conservative Prime Minister Jenny Shipley said raising it threatened to “divide New Zealand in a way I have not experienced in my adult life”.
Why is the bill controversial?
After the bill was presented for debate in Parliament last week, 22-year-old Maori Party MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke tore it in half and launched a haka. Footage of her demonstrations was shared widely on social media, leading to one of the largest Maori demonstrations in New Zealand’s recent history.
Many critics of the bill – including some of New Zealand’s most respected lawyers – see it as an attempt to strip long-agreed rights from the country’s Maori people.
“It’s not the best way to have a conversation. We will not accept a unilateral change to a treaty involving two parties,” Ngira Simmonds, a key adviser to New Zealand’s Maori queen, told AFP news agency.
“There is a better way,” he added.