On a sticky day in January, dozens of nannies and aunties from Tainui shook and waved fronds of greenery as they called manuhiri onto Tuurangawaewae Marae.

More than 10,000 people had responded to a rare call for unity from the Māori King to discuss what the new government’s policies meant for Māori. It set the scene for what became a massive year for te ao Māori.

A few months beforehand, just in time for Christmas 2023, the newly formed government had announced its coalition agreements.

• READ MORE: Moana Maniapoto on the sound of the 80s to world-class Māori journalism
• Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill public submissions
• Asia Pacific Media Network’s Te Tiriti Bill submission

The agreements included either rolling back previous initiatives considered progressive for Māori or creating new policies that many in Māoridom and beyond perceived to be an attack on Māori rights and te Tiriti o Waitangi.

So as the rest of the country wound down for the year, te ao Māori went to work, planning for the year ahead.

This year saw everything from controversial debates about the place of New Zealand’s founding document to mourning the loss of the Māori king, and a viral haka.

A call for unity — how 2024 started
The Hui-aa-motu in January was the first sign of the year to come.

Iwi from across the motu arrived at Tūrangawaewae, including Ngāpuhi, an iwi which doesn’t typically follow the Kiingitanga, suggesting a growing sense of shared purpose in Māoridom.

At the centre of the discussions was the ACT Party’s Treaty Principles Bill, which aims to redefine the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and enshrine them in law.

Māori also expressed their concerns over the axing of Te Aka Whai Ora, (the Māori Health Authority), the re-introduction of referenda on Māori wards, removing references to Tiriti o Waitangi in legislation, and policies related to the use and funding of te reo Māori.

The day was overwhelmingly positive. Visitors were treated with manaakitanga, all receiving packed lunches and ice blocks to ward off the heat.

Raising some eyebrows, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon chose not to attend, sending newly-appointed Māori-Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka and Māori Affairs select committee chair Dan Bidois instead.

Other than the sheer number of people who showed up, the hui was memorable for these words, spoken by Kiingi Tuheitia as he addressed the crowds, and quoted repeatedly as the year progressed:

“The best protest we can make right now is being Māori. Be who we are. Live our values. Speak our reo. Care for our mokopuna, our awa, our maunga.

“Just be Māori. Be Māori all day, every day. We are here. We are strong.”

The momentum continued, with the mauri of Hui-ā-Motu passed to Rātana pā next, and then to Waitangi in February.

The largest Waitangi in years
Waitangi Day has long been a place of activism and discussion, and this year was no exception.

February saw the most well-attended Waitangi in years. Traffic in and out of Paihia was at a standstill for hours as people flocked to the historic town, to discuss, protest, and commemorate the country’s founding document.

Veteran Māori activist Hone Harawira addressed David Seymour, the architect of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill and ACT Party Leader, directly.

“You want to gut the treaty? In front of all of these people? Hell no! You and your shitty-arse bill are going down the toilet.”

A new activist group, ‘Toitū te Tiriti’, also seized the moment to make themselves known.

Organisers Eru Kapa-Kingi and Hohepa Thompson led two dozen protesters onto the atea (courtyard) of Te Whare Rūnanga during the pōwhiri for government officials, peacefully singing over David Seymour’s speech.

“Whakarongo, e noho . . .” they began — “Listen, sit down”.

It was just the start of a movement which led to a nationwide hīkoi from the top of the North Island to Wellington.

Record number of urgent Waitangi Tribunal claims
In the past year, the government’s policies have faced significant formal scrutiny too, with a record number of urgent claims heard before the Waitangi Tribunal in such a short period of time.

The claims have been wide-ranging and contentious, including:

• the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority,
• ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill,
• limiting te reo Māori use,
• reinstating referendums for Māori wards, and
• the repeal of smokefree legislation.

Seymour has also criticised the function of the tribunal itself. In May, he argued it had become “increasing activist”, going “well beyond its brief”.

“The tribunal appears to regard itself as a parallel government that can intervene in the actual government’s policy-making process,” Seymour said.

The government has made no secret of its plan to review the tribunal’s future role, a coalition promise.

The review is expected to refocus the tribunal’s scope, purpose and nature back to its “original intent”. While the government has not yet released any specific details about the review, it’s anticipated that Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka will oversee it.

Te Kiingi o te Kōtahitanga — mourning the loss of Kiingi Tuheitia
In August, when the seas were choppy, te ao Māori lost a rangatira.

Te iwi Māori were shocked and saddened by the death of Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau te Wherowhero VII, who just days before had celebrated his 18th year on the throne.

Once again, thousands arrived outside the bright-red, ornately-carved gates of Tuurangawaewae, waiting to say one last goodbye.

The tangi, which lasted five days, saw tears, laughter and plenty of stories about Tuheitia, who has been called “Te Kiingi o Te Kōtahitanga”, the King of Unity.

On the final day, led by Kaihaka, his body was driven the two blocks in a black hearse to the banks of Waikato River. He was placed on a waka specially crafted for him, and made the journey to his final resting place at the top of Taupiri Maunga, alongside his tūpuna.

Just hours before, Tuheitia’s youngest child and only daughter, Nga wai hono i te po was announced as the new monarch of the Kiingitanga. The news was met with applause and tears from the crowd.

At just 27 years old, the new Kuini signals a societal shift, where a new generation of rangatahi who know their whakapapa, their reo, and are strong in their identity as Māori, are now stepping up.

The new generation of Māori activists
An example of this “kohanga generation” is Aotearoa’s youngest MP, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke.

Elected in 2023, the 22-year-old gained international attention after a video of her leading a haka in Parliament and tearing up a copy of the Treaty Principles Bill made headlines around the world.

Maipi-Clarke and several other opposition MPs performed the Ka Mate haka in response to the Treaty Principles Bill, a move that cost her a 24-hour suspension from the debating chamber.

At the same time, another up-and-coming leader within Māoridom, Eru Kapa-Kingi, led a hīkoi from the top of the North Island to Wellington, in what is believed to be the largest protest to ever arrive at Parliament.

The hīkoi mō te Tiriti was the culmination of a year of action, and organisers predicted it would be big. But almost no one anticipated the true scale of the crowd.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced that he will not be travelling to the Treaty grounds in Northland for Waitangi Day commemorations in February next year, opting to attend events elsewhere.

Māori met the decision with mixed emotions — some calling it a missed opportunity, and others pleased.

We’re set for a big year to come, with submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill closing on January 7, the ensuing select committee process will be sure to dominate the conversation at Waitangi 2025 and beyond.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Activist/educator Tina Ngata (Ngati Porou) has warned proposed changes to Aotearoa New Zealand’s Treaty of Waitangi principles would undermine indigenous Māori sovereignty, rights, and protections, and risk corporate exploitation and environmental harm.

Ngata is a member of Koekoeā, a tāngata whenua and tāngata tiriti rōpu which brings accessible information and workshops for select committee submissions for the Treaty Principles Bill.

“[ACT leader and Minister for Regulation] David Seymour is saying, ‘it’s just the principles, not the text, so is it really a big deal?’” Ngata said.

• READ MORE: Read an explainer on the Waitangi Tribunal from an interview with Dr Carwyn Jones, the kaihautū of Te Whare Whakatupu Mātauranga at Te Wānanga o Raukawa
• Other Te Tiriti reports

“The Crown commitments are framed within the principles so, when you affect the principles, it has the same legal effect as redefining the Treaty itself.”

Ngata said the principles were the strongest tool to ensure the Crown as a Treaty partner was including and consulting with Māori.

People can submit on the Bill here until 7 2025 and here is a video by Koekoeā showing how easy it is to make a submission.

What are the Treaty principles Seymour hopes to redefine?
“The principles are enshrined in the Treaty of Waitangi Act, which came about in 1975 as a result of that generation undertaking hīkoi and protests calling for our land rights and for the Crown to honour Te Tiriti,” Ngata said.

The Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 introduced the concept of treaty principles, which were commitments for the Crown to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The act established the Waitangi Tribunal.

The principles were often referred to as the “three P’s” — partnership, participation and protection — but there were others such as tino rangatiratanga, ōritetanga as duty to act reasonably.

Over time the principles became more and more defined, particularly in 1987 in a court case where the Māori Council took the Crown to court for trying to sell Aotearoa’s natural assets and privatise them, which was where the principle of consultation came about.

There are no two versions of the Treaty
Ngata said the principles were put into the act to resolve the conflict between what were believed to be two versions that were equally valid but conflicted — often known as the English version, which only 39 Māori signed, and the Māori version, which between 530 and 540 signed.

She said the idea of two versions had a flawed premise.

The Treaty of Waitangi drafted by Captain William Hobson was supposedly translated into Te Tiriti o Waitangi but Ngata said it didn’t qualify as a translation as the two were radically different.

“Even our Māori activists in 1975 were calling the English text the ‘Treaty of fraud’. They were very clear that there was only one valid treaty,” Ngata said.

By valid she means valid by definition where a treaty is an agreement signed between two sovereign nations, and she said the only definition that applied to was Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Incremental journey towards treaty justice
Ngata said the principles themselves did not represent Treaty justice but were reflective of the time.

In 1989 Ngāti Whātua leader and respected scholar Sir Hugh Kawharu translated the te reo Māori document into English. She said even that translation was caught up in the time because it said Te Tiriti gave permission for the Crown to form a government. But more recent research had found Te Tiriti allowed for a limited level of governance and not a government.

Ngata described the principles as the strongest tool to ensure the Crown as Treaty partner was upholding its commitments but, even with those principles, there were consistent breaches.

“Even though [the principles] are not truly justice, Māori have taken them and used them to protect ourselves, protect our families, protect our mokopuna rights,” Ngata said.

“Often many times to protect Aotearoa’s natural resources from corporate exploitation.”

She said that point was important to remember, that the principles had been a road block. Arguably, the drive to replace those principles was to make it easier for corporate exploitation.

Overall, the Treaty Principles Bill was taking New Zealand back before 1975 and in reverse from that journey towards treaty justice, Ngata said

The principles in the new bill
The Treaty Principles Bill dumps the old principles and introduces three new ones. The proposed principles are below, and Ngata explained the problems in each principle.

1. Civil government — the government of New Zealand has full power to govern, and Parliament has full power to make laws. They do so in the best interests of everyone, and in accordance with the rule of law and the maintenance of a free and democratic society.
2. Rights of hapū and iwi Māori — the Crown recognises the rights that hapū and iwi had when they signed the Treaty/te Tiriti. The Crown will respect and protect those rights. Those rights differ from the rights everyone has a reasonable expectation to enjoy only when they are specified in Treaty settlements.
3. Right to equality — everyone is equal before the law and is entitled to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination. Everyone is entitled to the equal enjoyment of the same fundamental human rights without discrimination.

Māori never ceded sovereignty
In 2014, the Waitangi Tribunal found Māori never ceded sovereignty.

Thus the first principle, “the government has full power to govern and Parliament has full power to make laws” negated Māori sovereignty, Ngata said.

In article one, Te Tiriti o Waitangi gave a limited level of governance for the Queen to make laws through a governor but it was not a cessation of sovereignty.

She argued that article three said Māori had the same rights and privileges as those who were British subjects of the Queen.

“If article 1 was a cessation of sovereignty to the Queen over Māori, then why would we need to explicitly say that we then get the same rights and privileges as those who are subjects of the Queen? That would have been inherent within that article.”

Indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination
She said this principle was also not in alignment with how the international community understood human rights.

“The second principle the bill is suggesting is that the Crown will recognise the rights of hapū and iwi but only in so far as they are the same rights as everybody else, unless they are rights that have been enshrined within a settlement act,” Ngata said.

But Ngata said Māori rights did not stem from the Treaty of Waitangi Act, and Māori rights did not stem from Te Tiriti. Instead they were inherent.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recognised the right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination.

UNDRIP included rights for Indigenous people to freely determine their political status, maintain distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions, and participate in decision-making processes that affected them.

“It’s preposterous to say that our rights can only come into effect if they’ve been subject to a Treaty settlement.”

‘Colonial governments will only deliver unequal treatment’
The third article states everyone is equal under law and ACT leader and bill designer David Seymour has proudly advocated “one law for all” but Ngata said this wsn’t equality – it was assimilation.

Earlier in the year, Ngata told Te Ao Māori News the government was implementing assimilation policies, which Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term “genocide”, included as part of the broader spectrum of genocide.

One of the examples of assimilation policy was the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority, which was created to ensure better health outcomes for Māori and provide te ao Māori approaches, meaning cultural differences rather than simply based on race.

She said the Crown had a long-standing history of treating Māori unequally: “Colonial governments will only deliver unequal treatment.”

“If you were treating the Treaty with Maori equally, you would not be undertaking this process in the first place.”

The impacts the bill would have
Ngata said Māori would be impacted in a “whole ecosystem impact of te ao Māori — across housing, whenua, natural resources, waterways, transport and health”.

She said the bill would impact other marginalised groups and the environment and, therefore, everybody.

She said the bill was being pushed to remove the roadblock to protect the natural environment from corporate exploitation.

It was clear the bill was being driven by multinational corporate interests in accessing natural resources and thus once enacted, there would be environmental degradation.

Ngata said the language and rhetoric David Seymour was using on the topic was reminiscent of and in some cases a direct import of the same rhetoric used to negate treaty rights in Canada and the US.

She cited New Zealand having one of the world’s largest exclusive economic zones (EEZ) (the maritime area a nation has exclusive rights to explore, use and manage natural resources). That zone would be of interest to corporates and, in the past, the Treaty principles had blocked corporations from extracting natural resources.

Ngata said there were international dimensions, and there were parallels with other colonial governments, such as France in Kanaky and Indonesia in West Papua, who “ran roughshod” over Indigenous rights to extract natural resources for profit.

Republished with permission from Te Ao Māori News.

“Flashpoint” in a foreign news story usually brings to mind the Middle East or the border between North and South Korea. It is not a term usually associated with New Zealand but last week it was there in headline type.

News outlets around the world carried reports of the Hīkoi and protests against Act’s Treaty Principles Bill, with the overwhelming majority characterising the events as a serious deterioration in this country’s race relations.

The Associated Press report carried the headline “New Zealand’s founding treaty is at a flashpoint: Why are thousands protesting for Māori rights?”. That headline was replicated by press and broadcasting outlets across America, by Yahoo, by MSN, by X, by Voice of America, and by news organisations in Asia and Europe.

• READ MORE: Protest photographer John Miller records Hīkoi mō te Tiriti with his historic lens
• Other Hīkoi reports

Reuters’ story on the hikoi carried the headline: “Tens of thousands rally at New Zealand parliament against bill to alter indigenous rights”. That report also went around the world.

So, too, did the BBC, which reaches 300 million households worldwide: “Thousands flock to NZ capital in huge Māori protest”.

The Daily Mail’s website is given to headlines as long as one of Tolstoy’s novels and told the story in large type: “Tens of thousands of Māori protesters march in one of New Zealand’s biggest ever demonstrations over proposed bill that will strip them of ‘special rights’”. The Economist put it more succinctly: “Racial tensions boil over in New Zealand”.

In the majority of cases, the story itself made clear the Bill would not proceed into law but how many will recall more than the headline?

An even bleaker view
Readers of The New York Times were given an even bleaker view of this country by their Seoul-based reporter Yan Zhuang. He characterised New Zealand as a country that “veers sharply right”, electing a government that has undone the “compassionate, progressive politics” of Jacinda Ardern, who had been “a global symbol of anti-Trump liberalism”.

Critiquing the current government, The Times story stated: “In a country that has been celebrated for elevating the status of Māori, its indigenous people, it has challenged their rights and prominence of their culture and language in public life, driving a wedge into New Zealand society and setting off waves of protests.”

Christopher Luxon may have judged “limited” support for David Seymour’s highly divisive proposed legislation as a worthwhile price to pay for the numbers to give him a grip on power. For his part, Seymour may have seen the Bill as a way to play to his supporters and hopefully add to their number.

Did either man, however, consider the effect that one of the most cynical political ploys of recent times — giving oxygen to a proposal that has not a hope in hell of passing into law — would have on this country’s international reputation?

Last week’s international coverage did not do the damage. Those outlets were simply reporting what they observed happening here. If some of the language — “flashpoint” and “boiling over” — look emotive, how else should 42,000 people converging on the seat of government be interpreted?

The damage was done by the architect of the Bill and by the Prime Minister giving him far more freedom than he or his proposal deserve.

Nor will the reputational damage melt away, dispersing in as orderly manner like the superbly organised Hīkoi did last Tuesday. It will endure even beyond the six months pointlessly given to select committee hearings on the Bill.

Alerted to the story
International media have been alerted to the story and they will continue to follow it. Many have staff correspondents and stringers in this country or across the Tasman who will be closely monitoring events.

Australia’s ABC last week signalled ongoing protest and its story on the Treaty Principles Bill would have left Australians bewildered that a bill “with no path forward” could be allowed to cause so much discord.

“The Treaty Principles Bill may be doomed,” said the ABC’s Emily Clark, “but the path forward for race relations in New Zealand is now much less clear.”

So, too, is New Zealand’s international reputation as a country where the rights of its tangata whenua were indelibly recognised by those that followed them. Even though imperfectly applied, the relationship is far more constructive than that which many colonised countries have with their indigenous peoples.

We are held by many to be an example to others and that is part of the reason New Zealand has a position in the world that is out of proportion to its size and location.

Damage to that standing is a very high price to pay for giving a minor party a strong voice . . . one that will be heard a very long way away.

Gavin Ellis holds a PhD in political studies. He is a media consultant and researcher. A former editor-in-chief of the New Zealand Herald, he has a background in journalism and communications – covering both editorial and management roles – that spans more than half a century. Dr Ellis publishes Knightly Views where this commentary was first published.

For almost six decades photographer John Miller (Ngāpuhi) has been a protest photographer in Aotearoa New Zealand.

From his first photographs of an anti-Vietnam War protest on Auckland’s Albert Street as a high school student in 1967, to Hīkoi mō te Tiriti last week, Miller has focused much of his work on the faces of dissent.

He spoke of his experiences over the years in an interview broadcast today on RNZ’s Culture 101 programme with presenter Susana Lei’ataua.

• LISTEN: Photographer John Miller talks to RNZ’s Culture 101
• Other Hīkoi mō te Tiriti reports

Miller joined Hīkoi mō te Tiriti at Waitangi Park in Pōneke Wellington last Tuesday, November 19, ahead of its final walk to Parliament’s grounds.

“It was quite an incredible occasion, so many people,”  74-year-old Miller says.

“Many more than 1975 and 2004. Also social media has a much more influential part to play in these sorts of events these days, and also drone technology . . .

“I had to avoid one on the corner of Manners and Willis Streets flying around us as the Hīkoi was passing by.

“We ended up running up Wakefield Street which is parallel to Courtenay Place to get ahead of the march and we joined the march at the Taranaki Street Manners Street intersection and we managed to get in front of it.”

Comparing Hīkoi mō te Tiriti with his experience of the 1975 Māori Land March led by Dame Whina Cooper, Miller noted there were a lot more people involved.

“During the 1975 Hīkoi the only flag that was in that march was the actual white land march flag — the Pou Whenua — no other flags at all. And there were no placards, no, nothing like that.”

There were more flags and placards in the Foreshore and Seabed March in 2004.

“Of course, this time it was a veritable absolute forest of Tino Rangatira flags and the 1835 flag and many other flags,” Miller says.

“Te Mana Motuhake o Tuhoe flags were there, even Palestinian flags of course, so it was a much more colourful occasion.”

Miller tried to replicate photos he took in 1975 and 2004: “However this particular time I actually was under a technical disadvantage because one of my lenses stopped working and I had to shoot this whole event in Wellington using just a wide angle lens so that forced me to change my approach.”

Miller and his daughter, Rere, were with the Hīkoi in front of the Beehive.

“I had no idea that there were so many people sort of outside who couldn’t get in and I only realised afterwards when we saw the drone footage.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

BACKGROUNDER: By Sarah Shamim

A fight for Māori indigenous rights drew more than 50,000 protesters to the New Zealand Parliament in the capital Wellington yesterday.

A nine-day-long Hīkoi, or peaceful march — a Māori tradition — was undertaken in protest against a bill that seeks to “reinterpret” the country’s 184-year-old founding Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed between British imperial colonisers and the Indigenous Māori tangata whenua (people).

Some had also been peacefully demonstrating outside the Parliament building for nine days before the protest concluded yesterday.

• READ MORE: Bill would ‘render the treaty worthless’ – world reacts to national Hīkoi
• ‘What’s good for Māori is good for everyone’ – Hīkoi ends with peaceful protest
• Hīkoi day 9: Massive crowd joins as Treaty Principles Bill protest reaches Parliament
• Other Hīkoi reports

On November 14, the controversial Treaty Principles Bill was introduced in Parliament for a preliminary first reading vote. Māori parliamentarians staged a haka (a traditional ceremonial dance) to disrupt the vote, temporarily halting parliamentary proceedings.

So, what was the Treaty of Waitangi, what are the proposals for altering it, and why has it become a flashpoint for protests in New Zealand?

Who are the Māori?
The Māori people are the original residents of the two large main islands now known as New Zealand, having lived there for several centuries.

The Māori came to the uninhabited islands of New Zealand from East Polynesia on canoe voyages betweemn 1200 and 1300. Over hundreds of years of isolation, they developed their own distinct culture and language. Māori people speak te reo Māori and have different tribes, or iwi, spread throughout the country.

The two islands were originally called Aotearoa by the Māori. The name New Zealand was adopted by the colonisers who took control under the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

While Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to “discover” New Zealand in 1642, calling it Staten Land, three years later Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland.

British explorer James Cook later anglicised the name to New Zealand.

New Zealand became a “dominion” under the British crown in 1907 after being a colony.

It gained full independence from Britain in 1947 when it adopted the Statute of Westminster.

However, for a century the Māori people had suffered mass killings, land grabs and cultural erasure at the hands of colonial settlers.

There are currently 978,246 Māori in New Zealand, constituting around 19 percent of the country’s population of 5.3 million. They are partially represented by Te Pāti Māori — the Māori Party — which currently holds six of the 123 seats in Parliament.

What was the Treaty of Waitangi?
On February 6, 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi, also called Te Tiriti o Waitangi or just Te Tiriti in te reo, was signed between the British Crown and around 500 Māori chiefs, or rangatira. The treaty was the founding document of New Zealand and officially made New Zealand a British colony.

While the treaty was presented as a measure to resolve differences between the Māori and the British, the English and te reo versions of the treaty actually feature some stark differences.

The te reo Māori version guarantees “rangatiratanga” to the Māori chiefs. This translates to “self-determination” and guarantees the Māori people the right to govern themselves.

However, the English translation says that the Maori chiefs “cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England absolutely and without reservation all the rights and powers of Sovereignty”, making no mention of self-rule for the Maori.

The English translation does guarantee the Māori “full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries”.

“The English draft talks about the British settlers having full authority and control over Māori in the whole country,” Kassie Hartendorp, a Māori community organiser and director at community campaigning organisation ActionStation Aotearoa, told Al Jazeera.

Hartendorp explained that the te reo version includes the term “kawanatanga”, which in historical and linguistic context “gives British settlers the opportunity to set up their own government structure to govern their own people but they would not limit the sovereignty of Indigenous people”.

“We never ceded sovereignty, we never handed it over. We gave a generous invitation to new settlers to create their own government because they were unruly and lawless at the time,” said Hartendorp.

In the decades after 1840, however, 90 percent of Māori land was taken by the British Crown. Both versions of the treaty have been repeatedly breached and Māori people have continued to suffer injustice in New Zealand even after independence.

In 1975, the Waitangi Tribunal was established as a permanent body to adjudicate treaty matters. The tribunal attempts to remedy treaty breaches and navigate differences between the treaty’s two texts.

Over time, billions of dollars have been negotiated in settlements over breaches of the treaty, particularly relating to the widespread seizure of Māori land.

However, other injustices have also occurred. Between 1950 and 2019, about 200,000 children, young people and vulnerable adults were subjected to physical and sexual abuse in state and church care, and a commission found Māori children were more vulnerable to the abuse than others.

On November 12 this year, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon issued an apology to these victims, but it was criticised by Māori survivors for being inadequate. One criticism was that the apology did not take the treaty into account.

While the treaty’s principles are not set in stone and are flexible, it is a significant historical document that upholds Māori rights.

What does the Treaty Principles Bill propose?
The Treaty Principles Bill was introduced by Member of Parliament David Seymour, leader of the libertarian ACT Party, a minor partner in New Zealand’s rightwing coalition government. Seymour himself is of Māori heritage.

The party launched a public information campaign about the bill on February 7 this year.

The ACT Party asserts that the treaty has been misinterpreted over the decades and that this has led to the formation of a dual system for New Zealanders, where Māori and pākehā (white) New Zealanders have different political and legal rights. Seymour says that misinterpretations of the treaty’s meaning have effectively given Māori people special treatment.

The bill calls for an end to “division by race”.

Seymour said that the principle of “ethnic quotas in public institutions”, for example, is contrary to the principle of equality.

The bill seeks to set specific definitions of the treaty’s principles, which are currently flexible and open to interpretation. These principles would then apply to all New Zealanders equally, whether they are Māori or not.

According to Together for Te Tiriti, an initiative led by ActionStation Aotearoa, the bill will allow the New Zealand government to govern all New Zealanders and consider all New Zealanders equal under the law.

Activists say this will effectively disadvantage indigenous Māori people because they have been historically oppressed.

Many, including the Waitangi Tribunal, say this will lead to the erosion of Māori rights. A statement by ActionStation Aotearoa says that the bill’s principles “do not at all reflect the meaning” of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Why is the bill so controversial?
The bill is strongly opposed by political parties in New Zealand on both the left and the right, and Maori people have criticised it on the basis that it undermines the treaty and its interpretation.

Gideon Porter, a Maori journalist from New Zealand, told Al Jazeera that most Maori, as well as historians and legal experts, agree that the bill is an “attempt to redefine decades of exhaustive research and negotiated understandings of what constitute ‘principles’ of the treaty”.

Porter added that those critical of the bill believe “the ACT Party within this coalition government is taking upon itself to try and engineer things so that Parliament gets to act as judge, jury and executioner”.

In the eyes of most Maori, he said, the ACT Party is “simply hiding its racism behind a facade of ‘we are all New Zealanders with equal rights’ mantra”.

The Waitangi Tribunal released a report on August 16 saying that it found the bill “breached the Treaty principles of partnership and reciprocity, active protection, good government, equity, redress, and the … guarantee of rangatiratanga”.

Another report by the tribunal seen by The Guardian newspaper said: “If this bill were to be enacted, it would be the worst, most comprehensive breach of the Treaty . . .  in modern times.”

What process must the bill go through now?
For a bill to become law in New Zealand, it must go through three rounds in Parliament: first when it is introduced, then when MPs suggest amendments and finally, when they vote on the amended bill. Since the total number of MPs is 123, at least 62 votes are needed for a bill to pass, David MacDonald, a political science professor at the University of Guelph in Canada, told Al Jazeera.

Besides the six Māori Party seats, the New Zealand Parliament comprises 34 seats held by the Labour Party; 14 seats held by the Green Party of Aotearoa; 49 seats held by the National Party; 11 seats held by the ACT Party; and eight seats held by the New Zealand First Party.

“The National Party leaders including the PM and other cabinet ministers and the leaders of the other coalition party [New Zealand] First have all said they won’t support the bill beyond the committee stage. It is highly unlikely that the bill will receive support from any party other than ACT,” MacDonald said.

When the bill was heard for its first round in Parliament last week, Māori party lawmaker Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke tore up her copy of the legislation and led the haka.

Is the bill likely to pass?
The chances of the bill becoming law are “zero”, Porter said.

He said the ACT’s coalition partners had “adamantly promised” to vote down the bill in the next stage. Additionally, all the opposition parties will also vote against it.

“They only agreed to allow it to go this far as part of their ‘coalition agreement’ so they could govern,” Porter said.

New Zealand’s current coalition government was formed in November 2023 after an election that took place a month earlier. It comprises the National Party, ACT and New Zealand First.

While rightwing parties have not given a specific reason why they will oppose the bill, Hartendorp said New Zealand First and the New Zealand National Party would likely vote in line with public opinion, which largely opposes it.

Why are people protesting if the bill is doomed to fail?
The protests are not against the bill alone.

“This latest march is a protest against many coalition government anti-Māori initiatives,” Porter said.

Many believe that the conservative coalition government, which took office in November 2023, has taken measures to remove “race-based politics”. The Māori people are not happy with this and believe that it will undermine their rights.

These measures include removing a law that gave the Maori a say in environmental matters. The government also abolished the Maori Health Authority in February this year.

Despite the bill being highly likely to fail, many believe that just by allowing the bill to be tabled in Parliament, the coalition government has ignited dangerous social division.

For example, former conservative Prime Minister Jenny Shipley has said that just putting forth the bill is sowing division in New Zealand, and she warned of potential “civil war”.

Sarah Shamim is a freelance writer and assistant producer at Al Jazeera Media Network, where this article was first published.

• Treaty Principles Bill

International media coverage of Aotearoa New Zealand’s national Hīkoi to Parliament has largely focused on the historic size of the turnout in Wellington yesterday and the wider contention between Māori and the Crown.

Some, including The New York Times, have also pointed out the recent swing right with the election of the coalition government as part of the reason for the unrest.

The Times article said New Zealand had veered “sharply right”, likening it to Donald Trump’s re-election.

• READ MORE: ‘What’s good for Māori is good for everyone’ – Hīkoi ends with peaceful protest
• Hīkoi day 9: Massive crowd joins as Treaty Principles Bill protest reaches Parliament
• Other Hīkoi reports

“New Zealand bears little resemblance to the country recently led by Jacinda Ardern, whose brand of compassionate, progressive politics made her a global symbol of anti-Trump liberalism.”

The challenging of the rights of Māori was “driving a wedge into New Zealand society”, the article said.

Coverage in The Guardian explained that the Treaty Principles Bill was unlikely to pass.

“However, it has prompted widespread anger among the public, academics, lawyers and Māori rights groups who believe it is creating division, undermining the treaty, and damaging the relationship between Māori and ruling authorities,” it said.

‘Critical moment’
Turkey’s public broadcaster TRT World said New Zealand “faces a critical moment in its journey toward reconciling with its Indigenous population”.

New Zealand MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke performed a haka in a powerful speech during her first appearance in parliament.

Maipi-Clarke is Aotearoa’s youngest MP since 1853 and is seen as representing the ‘kohanga reo’ generation of young Māori. pic.twitter.com/sWwbS1FsBI

— NoComment (@nocomment) January 5, 2024

While Al Jazeera agreed it was “a contentious bill redefining the country’s founding agreement between the British and the Indigenous Māori people”.

The Washington Post pointed out that the “bill is deeply unpopular, even among members of the ruling conservative coalition”.

“While the bill would not rewrite the treaty itself, it would essentially extend it equally to all New Zealanders, which critics say would effectively render the treaty worthless,” the article said.

The Hīkoi, and particularly the culmination of more than 42,000 people at Parliament, was covered in most of the mainstream international media outlets including Britain’s BBC and CNN in the United States, as well as wire agencies, including AFP, AP and Reuters.

Across the Ditch, the ABC headline called it a “flashpoint” on race relations. While the article went on to say it was “a critical moment in the fraught 180-year-old conversation about how New Zealand should honour the promises made to First Nations people when the country was colonised”.

Most of the articles also linked back to Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke’s haka in Parliament which also garnered significant international attention.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

More than 35,000 people today gathered as Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hīkoi mō te Tiriti overflowed from Parliament’s grounds and onto nearby streets in the capital Wellington Pōneke.

Eru Kapa-Kingi told the crowd “Māori nation has been born” today and that “Te Tiriti is forever”.

ACT leader David Seymour was met with chants of “Kill the bill, kill the bill” when he walked out of the Beehive for a brief appearance at Parliament’s forecourt, before waving to the crowd and returning into the building.

• READ MORE: Hīkoi day 8: Te Pāti Māori co-leader speaks of ‘sense of betrayal’ over bill
• RNZ News live Hīkoi updates
• Other Hīkoi reports

The Hikoi at Parliament today. Video: RNZ News

The Treaty Principles Bill architect, Seymour, said he supported the right to protest, but thought participants were misguided and had a range of different grievances.

Interviewed earlier before Question Time, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said it was up to Parliament’s justice committee to decide whether the select committee process on the Treaty Principles Bill should be shortened.

The select committee will receive public submissions until January 7, and intends to complete hearings by the end of February.

Waitangi Day uncertainty
It means the Prime Minister will head to Waitangi while submissions on the bill are still happening.

Luxon was asked whether he would prefer if the bill was disposed of before Waitangi Day commemorations on February 6

“It’ll be what it will be.

“Let’s be clear — there is a strong depth of emotion on all sides of this debate.

“Yes, [the bill] is not something I like or support, but we have come to a compromise.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

RNZ News

New Zealand’s hīkoi against the Treaty Principles Bill could be one of the largest rallies that the capital has seen for years, Wellington City Council says.

The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti will arrive in Wellington tomorrow, and locals are being warned to expect disruption and plan ahead.

• READ MORE: Treaty Principles Bill ‘inviting civil war’, says former PM Shipley
• Treaty Principles Bill haka highlights tensions between Māori tikanga and rules of Parliament
• Other Hīkoi mō te Tiriti reports

Yesterday, about 5000 people filled the square in Palmerston North before the convoy headed south, stopping for a rally in Levin.

Thousands of supporters were then welcomed at Takapūwāhia Marae, in Porirua, north of Wellington.

They will have a rest day in Porirua today before gathering at Wellington’s Waitangi Park on tomorrow morning, and converging on Parliament.

“There is likely to be some disruption to roads and highways,” the council said in a statement.

‘Plan ahead’ call
“Please plan ahead if travelling by road or rail on Tuesday, November 19, as delays are possible.”

The Hīkoi will start at 6am, travelling from Porirua to Waitangi Park, where it will arrive at 9am.

It will then depart the park at 10am, travelling along the Golden Mile to Parliament, where it will arrive at midday.

The Hīkoi will return to Waitangi Park at 4pm for a concert, karakia, and farewell.

State Highways 1 and 2 busier than normal.

Police said no significant issues had been reported as a result of the Hīkoi.

A traffic management plan would be in place for its arrival into Wellington, with heavier than usual traffic anticipated, particularly in the Hutt Valley early Tuesday morning, and on SH2 between Lower Hutt and Wellington city.

Anyone living or working in the city should plan accordingly, Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell said.

Police ‘working with Hikoī’
“Police have been working closely with iwi and Hīkoi organisers, and our engagement has been positive.

“The event as it has moved down the country has been conducted peacefully, and we have every reason to believe this will continue.

“In saying that, disruption is expected through the city centre as the hīkoi makes its way from Waitangi Park to Parliament.

“We’ve planned ahead with NZTA, Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, local schools, retailers and other stakeholders to mitigate this as best possible, but Wellingtonians should be prepared for Tuesday to look a little different.”

Wellington Station bus hub will be closed, with buses diverted to nearby locations.

Metlink has also added extra capacity to trains outside of peak times (9am-3pm).

Police said parking was expected to be extremely difficult on Tuesday, especially around the bus hub, Lambton Quay and Parliament grounds.

Wellingtonians were being to exercise patience, particularly on busy roads, Parnell said.

“We ask you to allow more time than normal to get where you are going. Plan ahead by looking at how road closures and public transport changes might affect you, and expect that there will be delays at some point throughout the day.”

PM: ‘We’ll wait and see’
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was playing his approach to the Hīkoi “by ear”.

He has been at his first APEC meeting in Peru, but will arrive back in New Zealand today.

He said he was open to speaking with members of the Hīkoi on Tuesday, but no plans had been made as yet.

“We haven’t made a decision. We’ll wait and see, but I’m very open to meeting, in some form or another.

“It’s obviously building as it walks through the country and gets to Wellington, and we’ll just wait and see and take it as it comes.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A former New Zealand prime minister, Dame Jenny Shipley, has warned the ACT Party is “inviting civil war” with its attempt to define the principles of the 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi in law.

The party’s controversial Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading in Parliament on Thursday, voted for by ruling coalition members ACT, New Zealand First and National.

National has said its MPs will vote against it at the second reading, after only backing it through the first as part of the coalition agreement with ACT.

• READ MORE:  NZ’s Treaty Principles Bill haka highlights tensions between Māori tikanga and rules of Parliament
• NZ’s Treaty Principles Bill is already straining social cohesion – a referendum could be worse
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• Labour’s Willie Jackson ejected from House for calling David Seymour a liar during Treaty Principles Bill reading
• NZ’s Treaty Principles Bill passes first reading after Māori MP evicted over haka
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Voting on the bill was interrupted when Te Pāti Māori’s Hauraki Waikato MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke tore up a copy of the bill and launched into a haka, inspiring other opposition MPs and members of the public gallery to join in.

Dame Jenny, who led the National Party from 1997 until 2001 and was prime minister for two of those years, threw her support behind Maipi-Clarke.

“The Treaty, when it’s come under pressure from either side, our voices have been raised,” she told RNZ’s Saturday Morning.

“I was young enough to remember Bastion Point, and look, the Treaty has helped us navigate. When people have had to raise their voice, it’s brought us back to what it’s been — an enduring relationship where people then try to find their way forward.

“And I thought the voices of this week were completely and utterly appropriate, and whether they breach standing orders, I’ll put that aside.

“The voice of Māori, that reminds us that this was an agreement, a contract — and you do not rip up a contract and then just say, ‘Well, I’m happy to rewrite it on my terms, but you don’t count.’

“I would raise my voice. I’m proud that the National Party has said they will not be supporting this, because you cannot speak out of both sides of your mouth.

“And I think any voice that’s raised, and there are many people — pākeha and Māori who are not necessarily on this hikoi — who believe that a relationship is something you keep working at. You don’t just throw it in the bin and then try and rewrite it as it suits you.”

Her comments come after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called the bill “simplistic” and “unhelpful”, and former Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson — who negotiated more settlements than any other — said letting it pass its first reading would do “great damage” to National’s relationship with Māori.

The Treaty Principles Bill reading vote.    Video: RNZ News

Dame Jenny said past attempts to codify Treaty principles in law had failed.

“While there have been principles leaked into individual statutes, we have never attempted to — in a formal sense — put principles in or over top of the Treaty as a collective. And I caution New Zealand — the minute you put the Treaty into a political framework in its totality, you are inviting civil war.

“I would fight against it. Māori have every reason to fight against it.

“This is a relationship we committed to where we would try and find a way to govern forward. We would respect each other’s land and interests rights, and we would try and be citizens together — and actually, we are making outstanding progress, and this sort of malicious, politically motivated, fundraising-motivated attempt to politicise the Treaty in a new way should raise people’s voices, because it is not in New Zealand’s immediate interest.

“And you people should be careful what they wish for. If people polarise, we will finish up in a dangerous position. The Treaty is a gift to us to invite us to work together. And look, we’ve been highly successful in doing that, despite the odd ruction on the way.”

She said New Zealand could be proud of the redress it had made to Māori, “where we accepted we had just made a terrible mess on stolen land and misused the undertakings of the Treaty, and we as a people have tried to put that right”.

“I just despise people who want to use a treasure — which is what the Treaty is to me — and use it as a political tool that drives people to the left or the right, as opposed to inform us from our history and let it deliver a future that is actually who we are as New Zealanders . . .  I condemn David Seymour for his using this, asking the public for money to fuel a campaign that I think really is going to divide New Zealand in a way that I haven’t lived through in my adult life. There’s been flashpoints, but I view this incredibly seriously.”

‘Equal enjoyment of the same fundamental human rights’
In response, David Seymour said the bill actually sought to “solve” the problem of “treating New Zealanders based on their ethnicity”.

“Te Pāti Māori acted in complete disregard for the democratic system of which they are a part during the first reading of the bill, causing disruption, and leading to suspension of the House.

“The Treaty Principles Bill commits to protecting the rights of everyone, including Māori, and upholding Treaty settlements. It commits to give equal enjoyment of the same fundamental human rights to every single New Zealander.

“The challenge for people who oppose this bill is to explain why they are so opposed to those basic principles.”

On Thursday, following the passing of the bill’s first reading, he said he was looking forward to seeing what New Zealanders had to say about it during the six-month select committee process.

“The select committee process will finally democratise the debate over the Treaty which has until this point been dominated by a small number of judges, senior public servants, academics, and politicians.

“Parliament introduced the concept of the Treaty principles into law in 1975 but did not define them. As a result, the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal have been able to develop principles that have been used to justify actions that are contrary to the principle of equal rights. Those actions include co-governance in the delivery of public services, ethnic quotas in public institutions, and consultation based on background.

“The principles of the Treaty are not going away. Either Parliament can define them, or the courts will continue to meddle in this area of critical political and constitutional importance.

“The purpose of the Treaty Principles Bill is for Parliament to define the principles of the Treaty, provide certainty and clarity, and promote a national conversation about their place in our constitutional arrangements.”

He said the bill in no way would alter or amend the Treaty itself.

“I believe all New Zealanders deserve tino rangatiratanga — the right to self-determination. That all human beings are alike in dignity. The Treaty Principles Bill would give all New Zealanders equality before the law, so that we can go forward as one people with one set of rights.”

The Hīkoi today was in Hastings, on its way to Wellington, where it is expected to arrive on Monday.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Te Pāti Māori’s extraordinary display of protest — interrupting the first vote on the Treaty Principles Bill — has highlighted the tension in Aotearoa New Zealand between Māori tikanga, or customs, and the rules of Parliament.

When called on to cast Te Pāti Māori’s vote, its MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke instead launched into a haka, ripping a copy of the legislation in half.

She was joined by other opposition MPs and onlookers, prompting Speaker Gerry Brownlee to temporarily suspend Parliament and clear out the public gallery.

• READ MORE: NZ’s Treaty Principles Bill is already straining social cohesion – a referendum could be worse
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• RNZ LIVE: Hīkoi news blog – Day five
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Brownlee subsequently censured Maipi-Clarke, describing her conduct as “appallingly disrespectful” and “grossly disorderly”.

Maipi-Clarke was named and suspended, barring her from voting or entering the debating chamber for a 24-hour period. She also had her pay docked.

Te Pāti Māori about to record their vote.   Video: RNZ/Parliament

‘Ka mate, ka mate’ – when is it appropriate to perform haka?
The Ngāti Toa haka performed in Parliament was the well-known “Ka mate, Ka mate,” which tells the story of chief Te Rauparaha who was being chased by enemies and sought shelter where he hid. Once his enemies left he came out into the light.

Ngāti Toa chief executive and rangatira Helmut Modlik told RNZ the haka was relevant to the debate. He said the bill had put Māori self-determination at risk – “ka mate, ka mate” – and Māori were reclaiming that – “ka ora, ka ora”.

Haka was not governed by rules or regulation, Modlik said. It could be used as a show of challenge, support or sorrow.

“In the modern setting, all of these possibilities are there for the use of haka, but as an expression of cultural preferences, cultural power, world view, ideas, sounds, language – it’s rather compelling.”

Modlik acknowledged that Parliament operated according to its own conventions but said the “House and its rules only exist because our chiefs said it could be here”.

“If you’re going to negate . . .  the constitutional and logical basis for your House being here . . . with your legislation, then that negates your right to claim it as your own to operate as you choose.”

He argued critics were being too sensitive, akin to “complaining about the grammar being used as people are crying that the house is on fire”.

“The firemen are complaining that they weren’t orderly enough,” Modlik said. “They didn’t use the right words.”

Robust response expected
Modlik said Seymour should expect a robust response to his own passionate performance and theatre: “That’s the Pandora’s Box he’s opening”.

Following the party’s protest yesterday, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi told reporters “everyone should be proud to see [the haka] in its true context.”

“We love it when the All Blacks do it, but what about when the ‘blackies’ do it?” he said.

Today, speaking to those gathered for the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti in Rotorua, Waititi said the party used “every tool available to us to use in the debates in that House”.

“One of those tools are the Māori tools we take from our kete, which is haka, which is waiata, which is pōkeka — all of those things that our tīpuna have left us. Those are natural debating tools on the marae.”

What does Parliament’s rulebook have to say?
Parliament is governed by its own set of rules known as Standing Orders and Speakers’ Rulings. They endow the Speaker with the power and responsibility to “maintain order and decorum” in the House.

The rules set out the procedures to be followed during a debate and subsequent vote. MPs are banned from using “offensive or disorderly words” or making a “personal reflection” against another member.

MPs can also be found in contempt of Parliament if they obstruct or impede the House in the performance of its functions.

Examples of contempt include assaulting, threatening or obstructing an MP, or “misconducting oneself” in the House.

Under Standing Orders, Parliament’s proceedings can be temporarily suspended “in the case of any grave disorder arising in committee”.

The Speaker may order any member “whose conduct is highly disorderly” to leave the chamber. For example, Brownlee ejected Labour MP Willie Jackson when he refused to apologise for calling Seymour a liar.

The Speaker may also “name” any member “whose conduct is grossly disorderly” and then call for MPs to vote on their suspension, as occurred in the case of Maipi-Clarke.

Members of the public gallery can also be required to leave if they interrupt proceedings or “disturb or disrupt the House”.

‘Abusing tikanga of Parliament’
Seymour has previously criticised Te Pāti Māori for abusing the “the tikanga of Parliament,” and on Thursday he called for further consequences.

“The Speaker needs to make it clear that the people of New Zealand who elect people to this Parliament have a right for their representative to be heard, not drowned out by someone doing a haka or getting in their face making shooting gestures,” Seymour said.

Former Speaker Sir Lockwood Smith told RNZ the rules existed to allow rational and sensible debate on important matters.

“Parliament makes the laws that govern all our lives, and its performance and behaviour has to be commensurate with that responsibility.

“It is not just a stoush in a pub. It is the highest court in the land and its behaviour should reflect that.”

Sir Lockwood said he respected Māori custom, but there were ways that could be expressed within the rules. He said he was also saddened by “the venom directed personally” at Seymour.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

An estimated 10,000 people have marched through Rotorua today as part of Hīkoi mō te Tiriti protesting against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill.

Due to the size of the group, Fenton Street was blocked temporarily as the Hīkoi went through, police said.

It is anticipated that this afternoon the main Hīkoi will travel via Taupō to Hastings, where participants will stay overnight.

• READ MORE: NZ’s Treaty Principles Bill is already straining social cohesion – a referendum could be worse
• NZ’s Hīkoi challenging controversial draft bill ‘redefines activism’, says Herald
• Labour’s Willie Jackson ejected from House for calling David Seymour a liar during Treaty Principles Bill reading
• NZ’s Treaty Principles Bill passes first reading after Māori MP evicted over haka
• RNZ LIVE: Hīkoi news blog
• Other Hīkoi reports

Meanwhile, in Gisborne, a smaller hīkoi of around 80 people left Te Poho-O-Rāwiri Marae this morning heading south, accompanied by several vehicles.

There have been no problems reported at any of these locations.

Hīkoi activation events have now concluded for Te Waipounamu South Island ahead of their convoy to Parliament.

Tuesday, November 19 will mark day 10 of the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti and kotahitanga o Ngā Iwi ki Waitangi Park — everyone will meet at Waitangi Park on Wellington’s waterfont before walking to the steps of the parliamentary Beehive.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Hīkoi treaty bill protest heads south from Rotorua. Video: RNZ News

With the protest hīkoi from the Far North moving through Rotorua on its way to Wellington, it might be said ACT leader David Seymour has been granted his wish of generating an “important national conversation about the place of the Treaty in our constitutional arrangements”.

Timed to coincide with the first reading of the contentious Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill yesterday — it passed with a vote of 68-55, the hīkoi and other similar protests are a response to what many perceive as a fundamental threat to New Zealand’s fragile constitutional framework.

With no upper house, nor a written constitution, important laws can be fast-tracked or repealed by a simple majority of Parliament.

• READ MORE: NZ’s Hīkoi challenging controversial draft bill ‘redefines activism’, says Herald
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As constitutional lawyer and former prime minister Geoffrey Palmer has argued about the current government’s legislative style and speed, the country “is in danger of lurching towards constitutional impropriety”.

Central to this ever-shifting and contested political ground is te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi. For decades it has been woven into the laws of the land in an effort to redress colonial wrongs and guarantee a degree of fairness and equity for Māori.

There is a significant risk the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill would undermine these achievements, as it attempts to negate recognised rights within the original document and curtail its application in a modern setting.

But while the bill is almost guaranteed to fail because of the other coalition parties’ refusal to support it beyond the select committee, there is another danger. Contained in an explanatory note within the bill is the following clause:

The Bill will come into force if a majority of electors voting in a referendum support it. The Bill will come into force 6 months after the date on which the official result of that referendum is declared.

Were David Seymour to argue his bill has been thwarted by the standard legislative process and must be advanced by a referendum, the consequences for social cohesion could be significant.

The referendum option
While the bill would still need to become law for the referendum to take place, the option of putting it to the wider population — either as a condition of a future coalition agreement or orchestrated via a citizens-initiated referendum — should not be discounted.

One recent poll showed roughly equal support for and against a referendum on the subject, with around 30 percent undecided. And Seymour has had success in the past with his End of Life Choice Act referendum in 2020.

He will also have watched the recent example of Australia’s Voice referendum, which aimed to give a non-binding parliamentary voice to Indigenous communities but failed after a heated and divisive public debate.

The lobby group Hobson’s Pledge, which opposes affirmative action for Māori and is led by former ACT politician Don Brash, has already signalled its intention to push for a citizens-initiated referendum, arguing: “We need to deliver the kind of message that the Voice referendum in Australia delivered.”

The Treaty and the constitution
ACT’s bill is not the first such attempt. In 2006, the NZ First Party — then part of a Labour-led coalition government — introduced the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill.

That bill failed, but the essential argument behind it was that entrenching Treaty principles in law was “undermining race relations in New Zealand”. However, ACT’s current bill does not seek to delete those principles, but rather to define and restrain them in law.

This would effectively begin to unpick decades of careful legislative work, threaded together from the deliberations of the Waitangi Tribunal, the Treaty settlements process, the courts and Parliament.

As such, in mid-August the Tribunal found the first iteration of ACT’s bill

would reduce the constitutional status of the Treaty/te Tiriti, remove its effect in law as currently recognised in Treaty clauses, limit Māori rights and Crown obligations, hinder Māori access to justice, impact Treaty settlements, and undermine social cohesion.

In early November, the Tribunal added:

If this Bill were to be enacted, it would be the worst, most comprehensive breach of the Treaty/te Tiriti in modern times. If the Bill remained on the statute book for a considerable time or was never repealed, it could mean the end of the Treaty/te Tiriti.

Social cohesion at risk
Similar concerns have been raised by the Ministry of Justice in its advice to the government. In particular, the ministry noted the proposal in the bill may negate the rights articulated in Article II of the Treaty, which affirms the continuing exercise of tino rangatiratanga (self-determination):

Any law which fails to recognise the collective rights given by Article II calls into question the very purpose of the Treaty and its status in our constitutional arrangements.

The government has also been advised by the Ministry of Justice that the bill may lead to discriminatory outcomes inconsistent with New Zealand’s international legal obligations to eliminate discrimination and implement the rights of Indigenous peoples.

All of these issues will become heightened if a referendum, essentially about the the removal of rights guaranteed to Māori in 1840, is put to the vote.

Of course, citizens-initiated referendums are not binding on a government, but they carry much politically persuasive power nonetheless. And this is not to argue against their usefulness, even on difficult issues.

But the profound constitutional and wider democratic implications of the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, and any potential referendum on it, should give everyone pause for thought at this pivotal moment.

Dr Alexander Gillespie is professor of law, University of Waikato and Claire Breen is professor of Law, University of Waikato. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

As thousands take to the streets this week to “honour” the country’s 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, the largest daily newspaper New Zealand Herald says the massive event is “redefining activism”.

The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti has been underway since Sunday, with thousands of New Zealanders from all communities and walks of life traversing the more than 2000 km length of the country from Cape Reinga to Bluff and converging on the capital Wellington.

The marches are challenging the coalition government Act Party’s proposed Treaty Principles Bill, introduced last week by co-leader David Seymour.

• READ MORE:  Labour’s Willie Jackson ejected from House for calling David Seymour a liar during Treaty Principles Bill reading
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• Hikoi day four – From Huntly towards Rotorua
• Live hīkoi coverage on RNZ news blog
• Other Hīkoi reports

The Bill had its first reading in Parliament today as a young first time opposition Te Pāti Māori MP, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, was suspended for leading a haka and ripping up a copy of the Bill disrupting the vote, and opposition Labour Party’s Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson was also “excused” from the chamber for calling Seymour a “liar” against parliamentary rules.

After a second attempt at voting, the three coalition parties won 68-55 with all three opposition parties voting against.

In its editorial today, hours before the debate and vote, The New Zealand Herald said supporters of Toitū te Tiriti, the force behind the Hīkoi, were seeking a community “reconnection” and described their kaupapa as an “activation, not activism; empowerment, not disruption; education, not protest”.

“Many of the supporters on the Hīkoi don’t consider themselves political activists. They are mums and dads, rangatahi, professionals, Pākehā, and Tauiwi (other non-Māori ethnicities),” The Herald said.

‘Loaded, colonial language’
“Mainstream media is often accused of using ‘loaded, colonial language’ in its headlines. Supporters of Toitū te Tiriti, however, see the movement not as a political protest but as a way to reconnect with the country’s shared history and reflect on New Zealand’s obligations under Te Tiriti.

“While some will support the initiative, many Pākehā New Zealanders are responding to it with unequivocal anger; others feel discomfort about suggestions of colonial guilt or inherited privilege stemming from historical injustices.”

The Herald said that politicians like Seymour advocated for a “multicultural” New Zealand, promising equal treatment for all cultures. While this vision sounded appealing, “it glosses over the partnership outlined in Te Tiriti”.

“Seymour argues he is fighting for respect for all, but when multiculturalism is wielded as a political tool, it can obscure indigenous rights and maintain colonial dominance. For many, it’s an unsettling ideology to contemplate,” the newspaper said.

“A truly multicultural society would recognise the unique status of tangata whenua, ensuring Māori have a voice in decision-making as the indigenous people.

“However, policies framed under ‘equal rights’ often silence Māori perspectives and undermine the principles of Te Tiriti.

“Seymour’s proposed Treaty Principles Bill prioritises Crown sovereignty, diminishing the role of hapū (sub-tribes) and excluding Māori from national decision-making. Is this the ‘equality’ we seek, or is it a rebranded form of colonial control?”

Heart of the issue
The heart of the issue, said The Herald, was how “equal” was interpreted in the context of affirmative action.

“Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel argues that true equality acknowledges historical injustices and demands action to correct them. In Aotearoa, addressing the legacy of colonisation is essential,” the paper said.

“Affirmative action is not about giving an unfair advantage; it’s about levelling the playing field so everyone has equal opportunities.

“Some politicians sidestep the real work needed to honour Te Tiriti by pushing for an ‘equal’ and ‘multicultural’ society. This approach disregards Aotearoa’s unique history, where tangata whenua hold a constitutionally recognised status.

“The goal is not to create division but to fulfil a commitment made more than 180 years ago and work towards a partnership based on mutual respect. We all have a role to play in this partnership.

“The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti is more than a march; it’s a movement rooted in education, healing, and building a shared future.

“It challenges us to look beyond superficial equality and embrace a partnership where all voices are heard and the mana (authority) of tangata whenua is upheld.”

The first reading of the bill was advanced in a failed attempt to distract from the impact of the national Hikoi.

RNZ reports that more than 40 King’s Counsel lawyers say the Bill seeks to “rewrite the Treaty itself” and have called on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and the coalition government to “act responsibly now and abandon” the draft law.

New Zealand’s controversial Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading in Parliament today and will now go to the Justice Committee for consideration as the national Hīkoi continued its journey to the capital.

Opposition Te Pati Māori’s Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke was suspended from the House following a haka.

Maipi-Clarke interrupted the vote on the Bill’s first reading with the Ka Mate haka taken up by members of the opposition and people in the public gallery.

• READ MORE:  Senior NZ lawyers call for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned 
• Hikoi day four – From Huntly towards Rotorua
• Live hīkoi coverage on RNZ news blog
• Other Hīkoi reports

Meanwhile, thousands continued their Hīkoi mō te Tiriti on the fourth day towards Wellington opposed to the draft legislation.

A huge crowd earlier stopped traffic in Hamilton as the national Hīkoi made its way through the city.

During the haka by Maipi-Clarke, Speaker Gerry Brownlee rose to his feet.

When it finished, he suspended Parliament and asked for the public gallery to be cleared.

First vote attempt disrupted
It caused enough disruption that the Speaker suspended Parliament during the vote on the first reading.

Labour’s Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson was ejected from the House after calling the Bill’s sponsor ACT leader David Seymour a “liar” — breaking parliamentary rules.

When the House returned, Brownlee said Maipi-Clarke’s behaviour was “grossly disorderly”, “appallingly disrespectful”, and “premeditated”.

The government parties voted in favour of the Bill, with opposition parties voting against.

The bill passed its first reading in spite of the opposition Greens calling for its MPs to be allowed to vote individually on their conscience.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

RNZ News

Thousands of people are continuing their North Island hīkoi as the legislation they are protesting against, the Treaty Principles Bill, gets its first reading in Parliament today.

The hīkoi enters day four and headed off from Huntly, destined for Rotorua today, after it advanced through Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau yesterday.

Traffic was at a standstill in Kirikiriroa Hamilton and the hīkoi has filled the road from one side to the other.

• READ MORE:  Senior NZ lawyers call for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned
• Live hīkoi coverage on RNZ news blog
• Other Hīkoi reports

Meanwhile, members of the King’s Counsel, some of New Zealand’s most senior legal minds, say the controversial bill “seeks to rewrite the Treaty itself” and are calling on the prime minister and the coalition government to “act responsibly now and abandon” it.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Thousands of supporters of Aotearoa New Zealand’s hīkoi mō te Tiriti — a march traversing the length of Aotearoa in protest against the Treaty Principles Bill and government policies impacting on Māori — have crossed the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

RNZ reporters with the march said it was swaying and rocking as the protesters descended on the Westhaven side of the bridge.

Earlier, Auckland commuters were advised to plan ahead as the hīkoi makes its way over the Harbour Bridge.

• READ MORE: Live hīkoi coverage on RNZ news blog
• Other Hīkoi reports

Waka Kotahi and police say the two outer northbound lanes closed from 8.30am on Wednesday and would not re-open until around 11am. Some other on- and off-ramps will also be closed until further notice.

The hīkoi begins the Harbour Bridge crossing.  Video: RNZ News

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Emotions are running high as the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti has been welcomed to Laurie Hill Park in Whangārei by mana whenua.

Thousands have arrived to support the kaupapa — young and old, tangata whenua and tangata tiriti, all to make a stand for the rights of Māori.

The crowd have joined in waiata before being addressed by rangatira.

• READ MORE: Hīkoi mō te Tiriti day one: ‘Lets make this hīkoi build a nation’
• RNZ live hīkoi news feed

An RNZ reporter at the scene says among the crowd, emotions are high and tears can be seen in some people’s eyes.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

From the misty peaks of Cape Reinga to the rain-soaked streets of Kawakawa, Aotearoa New Zealand’s national hīkoi mō Te Tiriti rolled through the north and arrived in Whangārei.

Since setting off this morning numbers have swelled from a couple of hundred to well over 1000 people, demonstrating their opposition to the coalition government’s controversial Treaty Principles Bill and other policies impacting on Māori.

Hundreds gathered for a misty covered dawn karakia at Te Rerenga Wairua, the very top of the North Island, after meeting at the nearby town of Te Kāo the night before.

• READ MORE: Meeting with Seymour ‘pointless’, say protest hīkoi organisers
• NZ’s Treaty Principles Bill protest hīkoi begins in Far North
• Other Toitū te Tiriti Hīkoi reports
• Follow RNZ’s live updates here

Among them was veteran Māori rights activist and former MP Hone Harawira. He says the hīkoi is about protesting against a “blitzkreig of oppression” from the government and uplifting Māori.

Harawira praised organisers of the hīkoi and set out his own hopes for the march.

“It’s been a great start to the day . . .  to come here to Te Rerenga Wairua with people from all around the country and just join together, have a karakia, have some waiata and start to move on. We’re ready to go and Wellington is waiting — we can’t keep them waiting.

“One of our kuia said it best last night. The last hīkoi built a party — the Māori Party — [but] let’s make this hīkoi build a nation. Let us focus on that,” Harawira said.

Margie Thomson and her partner James travelled from Auckland to join the hīkoi.

She said as a Pākeha, she was gutted by some of the government policies toward Māori and wanted to show support.

“The spirit of the people here is really profound . . . if people could feel they would really see the reality of the kāupapa here — the togetherness. This is really something, there is a really strong Māori movement and you really feel it.”

By lunchtime the hīkoi had reached Kaiatia where numbers swelled to well over 1000 people. The main street had to be closed to traffic while supporters filled the streets with flags, waiata and haka.

The hīkoi arrived in Whangārei this evening after covering a distance of around 280 km.

Kākā Porowini marae in central Whangārei was hosting some of the supporters and its chair, Taipari Munro, said they were prepared to care for the masses

“Hapu are able to pull those sorts of things together. But of course it will build as the hīkoi travels south.

“The various marae and places where people will be hosted, will all be under preparation now.”

Three marae have been made available for people to stay at in Whangārei and some kai will also be provided, he said.

Meanwhile, the Māori Law Society has set up a phone number to provide free legal assistance to marchers taking part in the hīkoi.

Spokesperson Echo Haronga said Māori lawyers wanted to support the hīkoi in their own way.

“This helpline is a demonstration of our manaakitanga as Māori legal professionals wanting to tautoko those people who are on the hīkoi. If a question arises for them, they’re not quite sure how handle it during the hīkoi then they know they can call this number they can speak to a Māori lawyer.”

Haronga stressed that she did not anticipate any issues or disturbances with the police and the helpline was open to any questions or concerns not just police and criminal enquiries.

“It’s not actually limited to people causing a ruckus and being in trouble with the police, it also could be someone who has a question . . . and they wouldn’t know otherwise where to go to, you can also call us for that if it’s in relation to hīkoi business.”

Hīkoi supporters will stay in Whangārei for the night before travelling to Dargaville and Auckland’s North Shore tomorrow.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

RNZ News

Thousands of people have joined the national hīkoi opposing the Treaty Principles Bill as it progresses south, with supporters lining State Highway 10 as it passes through Kerikeri en route to Kawakawa.

Leaders of a hīkoi against David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill have rejected the ACT party leader’s offer of a meeting as they set off for Wellington.

A dawn karakia at Te Rerenga Wairua launched the national hīkoi today.

Hīkoi mō te Tiriti participants gathered for a dawn blessing ahead of a nine-day journey to Wellington. Police are preparing for 25,000 people to join, while organisers are hoping for as many as 40,000.

• READ MORE: NZ’s Treaty Principles Bill protest hīkoi begins in Far North
• Other Toitū te Tiriti Hīkoi reports
• Follow RNZ’s live updates here

Meanwhile, leaders of the hīkoi rejected the ACT party leader’s offer of a meeting as they set off for Wellington.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A national hīkoi across Aotearoa New Zealand began today in the small Far North town of Te Kāo.

Supporters gathered at Pōtahi Marae, before setting out tomorrow on the first leg of the long journey south.

Travellers from Bluff at the far end of the South Island are also travelling toward Wellington to join the North Island group.

• READ MORE: Other Toitū te Tiriti Hīkoi reports

Toitū te Tiriti . . . the Māori activist group fighting for the treaty. Video: RNZ

On November 19, the hīkoi is planned to arrive on Parliament grounds, having gathered supporters from the very top and bottom of New Zealand through the nine-day journey.

Toitū te Tiriti organiser Eru Kapa-Kingi told RNZ the hīkoi was as much about Māori unity as it was opposition to government policy — in particular, the Treaty Principles Bill, which had been expected to be tabled at Parliament on November 18, the day before the hīkoi was set to arrive.

However, the Bill was tabled earlier than expected, on November 7, a move many Māori leaders labelled an attempt to undermine the the hīkoi.

In a statement posted to the Toitū te Tiriti Instagram page, Kapa-Kingi said no changes would be made to the planned hīkoi.

“We always knew a shuffle like this would come along, this is not unexpected from this coalition, they have shown us who they are for the past year.

“However this timing change does not matter, our kaupapa could never be, and will not be overshadowed. In fact, this just gives us more kaha (strength) to get on our whenua and march for our mokopuna.

“Bills come and go, but Te Tiriti is infinite, and so are we; our plans will not change. Kia kaha tātou.”

Disruptions likely on some roads – police
Police have warned that some disruption is likely on roads and highways, as the hīkoi passes through.

Superintendent Kelly Ryan said police would keep Waka Kotahi and local councils updated about the roads, so drivers in each area could find updates. She recommended travellers “plan accordingly”.

Police have also been in contact with the hīkoi organisers, she said: “Our discussions with organisers to date have been positive and we expect the hīkoi to be conducted in a peaceful and lawful manner.

“We’ve planned for large numbers to join the hīkoi, with disruption likely to some roads, including highways and main streets along the route.”

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said it would also be monitoring the impact of the hīkoi on highways, and would provide real-time updates on any delays or disruptions.

A police Major Operations Centre has been set up at the Wellington national headquarters, to oversee the response to the hīkoi in each area, Ryan said.

“We will continue to co-ordinate with iwi leaders and our partners across government to ensure public safety and minimal disruption to people going about their daily routine.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.