September 13, 2022
Republicanism a mirage says Piripi
A far north iwi leader hopes Maori will reject any moves for Aotearoa New Zealand to become a republic after the death of Queen Elizabeth.
Te Rarawa chair Haami Piripi says Maori count on a direct relationship with the Crown to block governments from overriding their treaty rights.
He says there are those who would love to destroy the Treaty by making it subject to governments, not the Crown.
“We’ve got the parameters of our relationship fairly clearly defined now and it’s even been defined further by the courts and the tribunal so we’ve got something to work with, and I for one would be very reluctant to give that up for a mirage of a republic that we haven’t even begun to determine or define,” Mr Piripi says.
Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern said yesterday she believes New Zealand will become a republic in her lifetime, but her Government would not make any moves in that direction because there were more pressing issues to pursue.