February 08, 2022
OPINION: The Treaty has failed us all
Martyn ‘Bomber’ Bradbury: It’s another year, it’s another Waitangi Day, it’s another round of cultural denial.
It’s not just the refusal to acknowledge historic injustices that are so depressing, it’s that the promise of the Treaty has been denied EVERYONE living in NZ.
Take the following…
The Queen of England agrees to protect the chiefs, the subtribes and all the people of New Zealand in the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship over their lands, villages and all their treasures.
The Queen of England will protect all the ordinary people of New Zealand and will give them the same rights and duties of citizenship as the people of England.
We now have 25,000 people waiting for emergency housing, 210,500 children living in poverty, 50,000 households living in poverty, suicide rates that are some of the worst in the world, entire generations locked out of homeownership and inequality that only grows with every passing year.
The Treaty, which set up the obligations of the State to ensure the sovereignty and agency of ALL people in NZ has been betrayed.
Honouring the Treaty isn’t just about ensuring historic crimes against Måori are rightfully and meaningfully settled, it demands that the State ensures everyone has the self-agency and Tino rangatiratanga promised to us by the Treaty.
We need to repair the past, rebuild the future AND heal the present.
182 years and we are still waiting for the blooming of our hopes.
Martyn Bradbury
Editor – TheDailyBlog.nz
Radio Waatea and its board would like to advise that the opinions posted are those of Martyn ‘Bomber Bradbury’ and not necessarily the views of Radio Waatea, its Management or its Board.