March 30, 2022
Luxon wants limits on indigenous recognition
The National Party has flipped over supporting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The previous National Government signed New Zealand up to the declaration in 2010 at the urging of its support partner the Māori Party.
But leader Christopher Luxon says options the Government is considering to give effect to the declaration, including the co-governance proposed in the He Puapua discussion document, go too far.
He says the Government needs to better define co-governance.
“It was tried to treaty settlements and it was bound in the management of local, regional natural resources. Here it looks like we are going into co-governance around public services. That’s something we don’t support, We don’t think we need to have two separate systems,” he says.
Mr Luxon says for now National doesn’t support ACT’s call for a referendum on co-governance.