Parliament anticipates Treaty Principles Bill debate

Atereano Mateariki Cushla Tangaere-Manuel | Parliament anticipates Treaty Principles Bill debate

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Today, Parliament anticipates the first reading of Associate Justice Minister David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill.

The bill aims to legally define the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi and outline how legal decisions referencing the Treaty should be made.

Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP Cushla Tangaere-Manuel says she does not believe statements from the National Party and NZ First throughout this term, which indicate they will not support the bill beyond the first reading.

She says the government’s behaviour regarding it proves this.

“First of all, they brought it to the house a week earlier than was intended. The fact that it’s even going to a select committee does concern me because there have been already thousands of submissions opposing this. Now there are thousands of people opposing it ā tinana walking across Aotearoa to express their disdain against this bill. So it’s going to be a very, I think, quite emotional day in Parliament today,” says Tangaere-Manuel.

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