September 25, 2023
ACT says treaty is a source of anger
ACT justice spokesperson Nicole McKee says a referendum on the Treaty of Waitangi is needed to address the anger she is hearing on the campaign trail.
She says ACT disagrees with the way treaty principles are being interpreted.
It wants legislation to reflect the English text, including the English translation of the Māori version by the late Professor Sir Hugh Kawharu, which was included as an appendix to the Act.
“Let’s develop a Bill, the Treaty Principles Bill, which will put it out there for full consultation, get everybody’s feedback and make it what the people want it to be, how they want it to read and how they want it to be implements and once we have agreement on that, we put it out for referendum so everyone has a final say,” Ms McKee says.
She denies ACT’s foregrounding of the treaty is dog-whistling against Māori but an attempt to move forward as a country.