November 02, 2023
Treaty role too big for referendum
Outgoing Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta says the Treaty of Waitangi is at the heart of nationhood in Aotearoa.
The ACT Party is demanding a referendum on the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, and it also wants to abolish Te Puni Kōkiri and remove government agencies’ focus on the Treaty of Waitangi.
Ms Mahuta says Australia’s failed Voice referendum showed how bad that approach is.
She says there are bigger questions New Zealanders need to ask themselves.
“The bigger question should be, what does nation building look like with the treaty at its heart? And the more difficult question for New Zealanders and certainly Maori is, should we start to now formalise what has once been a moral document in a constitutional form? That’s been an argument that’s been around for a very long time,” she says
Nanaia Mahuta says right now it’s too early to speculate where she’ll go next and it’s a blessing to be hands on at home with her whānau.