February 13, 2024
Treaty clauses not delivering
New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones says iwi leaders need to rethink their approach to the current Government.
Iwi made a display of kotahitanga at hui at Ratana, Turangawaewae and Waitangi in response to what they see as hostility by the coalition to Maori initiatives.
Mr Jones says Maori leadership has fixated on securing wins through the Waitangi Tribunal and the courts, but there’s more to being Maori than that – and the Government has a different approach.
“We’ve gone through a time where whenever any new legislation was passed, certainly over the last three years, it ended up enjoying the insertion of a reference to Treaty of Waitangi principles without us fully understanding ‘in this context what exactly does it mean? What exactly are we safeguarding?'” he says.
Mr Jones says that shifts more power not to Maori but to the judiciary, and he will be working with Maori Development Minister Tama Potaka to get clarity on when such references are necessary.