Role financing:
This is the time to show leadership.
Growing up with a Māori father and a Pākehā mother, I was fortunate to have the best of both worlds. But I’ll be honest: at my Catholic school in the late 1980s and mainstream in the 1990s, Te Tiriti o Waitangi wasn’t something we talked about much. I knew more about saints, scripture, and the royal family than our country’s founding document. It wasn’t until I studied Māori politics at university that I really began to understand what the Te Tiriti really means: it holds together the core of who we are as a country. Education is transformative.
I have watched in disbelief as David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill moves through Parliament. It is not here to make us stronger; it is here to tear us apart. I have also watched with pride as the hikoi move across the country and unite Aotearoa for what is right.
Christian leaders call the bill “treacherous and dangerous.” The Waitangi Tribunal has condemned the bill, calling it the “worst, most extensive breach of the Tiriti Treaty in modern times.” And these types of violations not only harm us here at home, but also harm our reputation worldwide.
While our journey has been far from perfect, the world has seen New Zealand make progress on race relations, honor Te Tiriti and build a society that others look up to. The world also watched the haka in Parliament last week, being made aware of the worrying behavior of this government, which has significantly tarnished Christopher Luxon’s reputation. I proudly stood in support of the haka.
Undermining Te Tiriti is not just an attack on Māori, it is slowly undermining the trust and goodwill we have built internationally, impacting our economy and every community. Tourism, trade and investment all depend on New Zealand being a place that the world respects and trusts.
This bill is supported by a government that should know better.
For almost fifty years, the treaty principles have been our compass. They were not invented on a whim, they are the result of years of struggle, pain, growth and understanding. These principles have helped us move forward, honor the past and adapt to the future, ka mua, ka muri. Now Seymour wants to destroy it all, replace it with his own version and call it ‘progress’. This is not progress; it is destruction.
The hīkoi is not just a march, it is a call for unity, for respect, for respect for the Treaty. It reminds us that Te Tiriti is not just a historical document that can be changed at will. It is a living devotion that upholds the respect and mana of tangata Whenua, and it is also what gave everyone here in New Zealand a home.
We don’t need this divisive debate. We need leadership and kotahitanga.
New Zealand deserves better. We deserve leaders who support Te Tiriti and who understand that when Māori thrive, our entire country thrives. Honoring the Treaty is not about giving anyone special treatment; it’s about fairness and building a future we can all be proud of. Toitu in Tiriti.