January 30, 2024
Trade vs treaty trade-off for government attention
New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones says the Government needs to focus on New Zealand’s economic challenges rather than be sidelined into endless debates on the Treaty of Waitangi.
As part of the coalition agreement his party agreed to support ACT’s treaty principles bill to select committee, but he says it’s up to ACT leader and new Associate Justice Minister David Seymour to take responsibility at that point.
While iwi and hapu may object to the existence of the bill, the election did reveal a widespread sense of uncertainty and anxiety about where the treaty debate was going.
He says an airing in the select committee could resolve that, and New Zealand First has made no promises to vote for the bill after that.
“We really are a Government that’s wanting to get focused on the export-led recovery, productivity, generating more revenue internationally, boosting infrastructure, and I suspect if we don’t actually deliver on those somewhat more prosaic elements of our political manifesto we could very well be hammered at the next election,” Mr Jones says.
He says while there is now little objection to the settlement of historic claims, there is concern about the Waitangi Tribunal developing new principles trough the hearing of select contemporary claims.