January 21, 2015
Ratana forum for treaty debate
Green MP Metiria Turei wants to use this week’s visit to Ratana Pa to hear more Maori say what the Treaty of Waitangi means to them.
About half the Greens’ caucus is expected at Ratana tomorrow for the annual hui, which is now considered the start of the political year.
The treaty debate has been dominated over the summer by a book and series of articles by economist Gareth Morgan, who argues that current Treaty processes are paving the way to a divided society.
Ms Turei says given the history of the movement, Ratana is the right place to take the debate.
" You know we’ve got people like Gareth Morgan now writing books about it. People who have opinions but not neccessarily much expertise. It's not good enough to have only those kinds of voices. We need to have Maori voices talking about the treaty and that's what I'll be doing at Ratana this weekend " she says.
Metiria Turei says she is mindful of the effort that church founder Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana put into explaining the significance of the treaty to the politicians of his day.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH METIRIA TUREI CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjU1NzU=
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