Listen Now: 
September 21, 2022
Republic promise too vague for Davis
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On September 21, 2022
0
Māori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis says preserving the status of the Treaty Waitangi is his bottom line for any discussion on changing New Zealand's constitutional arrangements.
Download AudioMāori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis says preserving the status of the Treaty Waitangi is his bottom line for any discussion on changing New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements.
The change in monarch has revived interest in New Zealand becoming a republic, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying she expects it to happen in her lifetime – though it’s not a priority now.
Mr Davis says he wants to see the small print.
“If it means we sacrifice Te Tiriti o Waitangi for whatever way is going forward then I would say no. What is import for me is Te Tiriti o Waitinga, not having change for change’s sake – New Zealand having a president rather than the Queen or the King now as head of state,” he says.
RELATED NEWS
