Professor criticizes Treaty Bill as supremacist move

Gideon Porter Margaret Mutu | Professor criticizes Treaty Bill as supremacist move

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Māori history professor Margaret Mutu says white supremacy is behind what she refers to as “David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill,” -and is clearly an effort to completely strip Maori of their Treaty rights.

Professor Mutu also says the Bill’s early introduction to parliament—almost two weeks before the expected date—is a tactic to avoid a protest hikoi, indicating that, at the very least, the ACT Party cannot be trusted.

She says the spirit of the Treaty of Waitangi represents a genuine partnership between Māori and all other peoples represented by the Crown… but the Treaty Principles Bill is simply a front.

“People need to be under no illusion, David Seymour wants the Treaty gone. David Seymour wants this country to be a white supremacist country – where only Pākehā can have a say as to what goes on, and that the role of Māori is completely gone,” says Mutu.

Professor Mutu says she hopes National and New Zealand First keep their word, to vote down the Bill at its second reading in parliament – but it should never have got this far.

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