November 23, 2023
Treaty tinkering recipe for constitutional mayhem
Former Mana Motuhake leader and diplomat Sandra Lee-Vercoe says the incoming Government needs to dial back attacks on the Treaty of Waitangi.
She says open season was declared on Māori at every level of society from the start of the election campaign, and that has encouraged parties like ACT to think they can push through stunts like rewriting the treaty and undermining Māori-focused agencies like Te Puni Kokiri.
She says the outcome is likely to be challenges in the courts and in international bodies like the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.
“The treaty is not some kind of private members bill that comes before parliament for people to have a hash at. It is a historical, constitutional agreement between tangata whenua as a nation and those who came and colonised our country, made by the crown. The crown sits on King Charles’ head and he is the constitutional head at this time of Aotearoa,” Ms Lee-Vercoe says.
Māori as a people may take the option of making their own constitutional arrangements, as countries through the Pacific have done in response to New Zealand and Australian heavy-handed colonisation.