The ACT Party has launched an information campaign as it tries to bring pressure on its coalition partners to support its Treaty Principles Bill – but a veteran pakeha treaty advocate says there’s a network of groups ready to counter it.
Denis O’Reilly, who was at Waitangi to stand with tangata whenua, says while ACT leader David Seymour says there hasn’t been enough discussion around te tiriti, in fact at least 30 groups have been doing tangata tiriti education in the community for years.
“What David Seymour has done is given us an opportunity and I think he has pricked us into action – let’s bring it on. The same as in Brexit, a lot of Brits have now got buyer’s remorse, and I think there are a lot of New Zealanders going ‘do we really want to go down this path,’” he says.
Mr O’Reilly says people shouldn’t be afraid of the discussion but should do it in good grace.
