December 04, 2023
Minister Goldsmith needs to get over treaty amnesia
A leading Māori lawyer says new Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith needs to go back to his early work for the Waitangi Tribunal as he starts his new mahi.
Mr Goldsmith is under fire for his contention that on balance colonisation was good for Māori.
Annette Sykes says the former historian for hire should not be judged on a one second soundbite, even if the entrenched disparities in New Zealand society make it laughable.
She says early in his career before he attached himself to right wing politicians and businessmen like John Banks, Don Brash and Alan Gibbs, Mr Goldsmith contributed to tribunal reports on the Taranaki and Wairarapa claims.
“I’m sure as he moves forward in this space he will reflect on some of the other things he said in the Waitangi Tribunal. Under cross examination to me he did concede the Te Tiriti o Waitangi text was the primary text because it was the one Māori gave their assent to, so he may have some specific amnesia on certain things he also said when working on the Waitangi Tribunal,” Ms Sykes says.