With a draft of ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill set to be considered by Cabinet today, more than 400 Christian leaders have signed an open letter opposing the intent of the bill, and calling on MPs to vote it down at first reading.
Signatories include the most senior leaders of Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Salvation Army and Vineyard denominations.
National and New Zealand First say the coalition agreement with ACT requires them to vote for the bill to go to the select committee, but they won’t vote for it after that point.
Spokesperson Hana Seddon from the Salvation Army says as witnesses to the signing of the treaty in 1840 the churches are duty-bound to break their silence.
“And if you have at the basis of your faith a book that talks about justice, how can you be silent? So I was really glad to see we’re at a stage in history now in 2024 where the most senior leaders of so many of our hahi right across the country representing thousands of people are prepared to say ‘Absolutely not – it is in no way appropriate to put through a Treaty Principles Bill like this,’” she says.
Captain Seddon says the work the Salvation Army does in communities like hers in Rotorua is a daily reminder of the social inequity that exists.
