March 07, 2023
Warning from tiriti ancestor
Minister of Te Arawhiti – Crown Māori Relations Kelvin Davis has told Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders they can do better in their treaty than Māori.
Australians will vote in October on a referendum on whether the constitution should be changed to create an Indigenous voice to parliament.
This advisory group would then lead to further discussion about a treaty and a truth-telling process like the Waitangi Tribunal.
Mr Davis says he gave last Australia and New Zealand School of Government’s First Peoples’ Conference in Brisbane a cautionary tale about his Nāati Manu ancestor Pōmare.
“If I could travel back in time I’d tell my tupuna ‘hey, taihoa, let’s think about this.’ If he knew that within five years he himself would be taken prisoner without trial, his pa plundered by the British and his people chased inland. If he had known that within 183 years his descendants would be amongst the most impoverished, least educated and die on average seven years younger than others, non-Maori, would he still sign?” Mr Davis says.