So afraid of the anti-Treaty and anti-Māori rhetoric that National, ACT and NZF have used to inflame their reactionary voting base, the Government fear agreeing to the clause will open them to criticism from the very voters they have rarked up.
Andrew Little, the Minister who inserted the clause when he was negotiating the settlement points out that removing the clause wasn’t actually required, “It’s disappointing because it is unnecessary. The Treaty settlement process is about getting the relationships back on foot and no one loses anything by including the agree-to-disagree clause the minister wants to remove.
Exactly.
No one is arguing that the Crown isn’t sovereign, (which is Minister Goldsmith’s justification for not signing), what the settlement is saying is that Ngāpuhi didn’t cede sovereignty.
Including the clause to agree to disagree recognises this difference without having to define it.
The settlement could be signed, but the Government fears acknowledging this will generate a backlash amongst the most reactionary voter their rhetoric has generated.
Once again, Māori have to wait for a settlement from the Crown that is acceptable to the worst prejudices of those who have benefited from colonialism and breaching the Treaty.
Such political games are beneath the mana of those who have sought redress.
