Open letter to Christopher Luxon: Stop the Treaty Principles Bill
Dear Prime Minister Luxon,
It is the responsibility of the people in government to meet the basic standards of conventional democracy and governance. It is your collective role to act with integrity and make informed decisions that impact generations using the best knowledge, information and expertise available. The Government should always (and only) represent the needs of the people — not disregard them.
What is proposed in the ACT’s Anti-Treaty Bill promotes misinformation and is highly misleading to the people of this country. It is based on an ACT policy which displays the Parties’ complete disrespect for Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
A Bill as constitutionally destructive as this should not be dignified with a select committee hearing.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi clearly outlines commitments between Māori and the Crown. It makes it possible for tauiwi (non-Māori) to make a home here and have equal individual rights, while Māori retain their authority over their communities, lands and treasures. Te Tiriti o Waitangi provides the foundation for a partnership that many tauiwi, including Pākehā, are proud of. The Treaty Principles Bill seeks to destroy that foundation.
The Bill misrepresents the collective guarantee of Māori tino rangatiratanga into something it is not (and never could be) by erasing the inherent rights that Te Tiriti affirms and protects — as is demonstrated by the words of esteemed Professor Margaret Mutu and a renowned group of licensed translators.
We, the under-signed, ask the Prime Minister to stop the Treaty Principles Bill and ensure it is withdrawn prior to the select committee process.
At Waitangi this year, you, Prime Minister Luxon, said: “The Treaty is our past, present and future.” We hope those statements are more than just hollow rhetoric or empty words. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is an intrinsic foundation of our democracy and we need our elected leaders to respect it as such.
We call on you, Prime Minister: choose integrity and honour over distortion, disrespect, and division. Responding to this in good faith and withdrawing the bill before the select committee hearing, will demonstrate partnership in action and will be remembered for generations to come.
Signed,
350 Aotearoa
Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand (ALRANZ)
ActionStation Aotearoa
Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand
Anglican Action
Annette Sykes & Co
Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance
Ara Taiohi
Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga
Asylum Seekers Support Trust
Auckland Action Against Poverty
Auckland Women’s Centre
Belong Aotearoa
Burnett Foundation Aotearoa
Child Poverty Action Group
Chinese Pride New Zealand
Climate Action & Resistance VUW
Climate Justice Taranaki
Climate Liberation Aotearoa
Coal Action Muirhiku
Coal Action Network Aotearoa
Community Networks Aotearoa
Common Grace
Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki
Council of Trade Unions
Dayenu: New Zealand Jews Against Occupation
Disabled Persons Assembly
DV Bryant Trust
E Tū Union
Eco Research Associates Ltd
Extinction Rebellion Whakatū
Gen-Z Aotearoa
Gender Minorities Aotearoa
Generation Zero
Greenpeace Aotearoa
Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura
Hui E! Community Aotearoa
Inclusive Aotearoa Collective
InsideOUT
James Henare Research Centre
Justice for Palestine
JustSpeak
Kaicycle Inc.
Kanaky Aotearoa Solidarity
Kapa Haumanu Limited
Kāpehu marae
Karikari marae
Koha Ora Whānau Trust
Kūwaha Ltd.
Massey (becoming) Tangata Tiriti Book Club
Massey Students for Justice in Palestine
Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand
Migrants Against the Acceptable Standard of Health Aotearoa
Moana Vā, navigators of pacific pride
Multicultural Nelson Tasman
National Council of Women
Nelson Seed Library
Nelson Tasman Climate Forum
Network Waitangi Ōtautahi
Network Waitangi Whangārei
New Zealand Association for Environmental Education
New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services
New Zealand Psychological Society / Rōpū Mātai Hinengaro o Aotearoa
Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga
Ngāi Tauira — Māori Students Association at Victoria University
Northland Urban Rural Mission (NURM)
NUKU
NZEI Te Riu Roa
Ora Taiao: NZ Climate and Health Council
Organise Aotearoa
Otago University Students’ Association
Otautahi Māori Womens Welfare League
Pacific Panthers
Paekākāriki Pride Inc
Papawhakaritorito Trust
Parents for Climate Aotearoa
Pathway to Survival
Pax Christi Aotearoa New Zealand
Peace Movement Aotearoa
People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA)
Pōneke Anti-Fascist Coalition
Pou Tikanga, National Iwi Chairs Forum
Poverty Free Aotearoa
Project Gender
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)
Public Housing Futures
Public Service Association
Pukekaraka Marae Committee
Pukenga Consultancy Ltd
QIANE+co
Qtopia
Rainbow Hub Waikato
Rainbow Youth
Reanga Taketake
Renters United
Russell School, Porirua East, Porirua
Seed Waikato
Seeds for Feeds
Social Link
St Mary’s Parish, Ōtaki
STIR: Stop Institutional Racism
Student Christian Movement Aotearoa
Students for Justice in Palestine Pōneke
System Change Aotearoa
Taikura Consultants Ltd
TalkLink Trust
Tāmaki Loves Palestine
Tāmaki Treaty Workers
Tangata Tiriti — Treaty People
Tangata Tiriti Aotearoa
Tangata Whenua, Community and Voluntary Sector Research Centre Inc
Tapatahi: Coalition for a People’s Aotearoa
Taraheke Press
Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary
Tauiwi Solutions
Tauiwi Tautoko
Te Ataarangi ki Koraunui
Te Kōhanga Reo o Raukawa
Te Kuaka
Te Kupenga Hauora Māori (Waipapa Taumata Rau)
Te Kura ā Iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano
Te Mana Ākonga
Te Muka Rau Charitable Trust
Te Ngakau Kahukura
Te Pou o Tainui Inc.
Te Reo o Ngā Tāngata | The People Speak
Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu
Te Tira Ahu Pae (Massey University Students Association)
Te Tiriti is Us
Te Waka Hourua Whītiki Mātike Whakatika
Te Wānanga o Raukawa
Te Whānau Waipareira
The Basket Hauraki
The Rubbish Trip
The Sustainable North Trust
The WaterBoy (Te Tamawai Trust)
Thirdspace Aotearoa
Tīaho Limited
Treaty Education
UniQ Waikato
UniQ Wellington
Unite Union
Verb Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington Students Association (VUWSA)
Waikato Arab Social Club
Waikato Environment Centre Trust
Waitaha Speech Therapy
WEAll
Wellington Peace Action
Zero Waste Network Aotearoa
