December 07, 2023
Kiingi Tuheitia hui could help treaty debate says Seymour
ACT leader David Seymour is welcoming Kiingi Tuheitia’s call for a national hui for unity.
January’s hui is in response to what Kiingitanga spokespeople say was unhelpful and divisive rhetoric during the election campaign and strong opposition to the Government’s statements on the Treaty of Waitangi which could undermine decades of hard-fought justice and equality.
Mr Seymour says he’s looking for debate.
“I think the Māori King calling a hui could actually be a welcome development because ACT has long said that the treaty, what it means, what its principles mean, what the lens through which we view the treaty in 2023 means being those principles, is actually something that deserves more public debate than what it’s had in the last four decades,” he says.
Ariki and Māori leaders – including Te Ariki Taa Tumu Te Heuheu and Ratana Tumuaki, Manuao Te Kohamutunga Tamou – agreed that the Crown must be a responsible Treaty Partner and unify, not divide the nation.