Prime Minister Christopher Luxon believes support for Act’s Treaty Principles Bill doesn’t reflect the views of all New Zealanders as he is again forced to explain National’s position on the bill, this time to one of his party members.
While on Newstalk ZB this morning, Luxon took a call from Michael who identified himself as a National Party member and questioned why Luxon had ruled out supporting Act’s bill, claiming there was “huge” support for Act leader David Seymour’s effort to re-define the Treaty principles.
Before Luxon answered, ZB host Kerre Woodham challenged Michael on the level of support for the bill, acknowledging supporters might be “vocal” but not huge in number.
Luxon, reiterating National’s intention to vote against the bill after it finished in select committee, argued most New Zealanders wanted the Government to focus on addressing the high cost of living and to improve health and education services.
He restated his view the bill was “incredibly divisive and unhelpful”. Seymour has maintained Luxon could change his mind and support the bill amid a public debate, something Luxon has rubbished.
Act leader David Seymour believes Prime Minister Christopher Luxon could change his mind on the Treaty Principles Bill. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Woodham then pushed Luxon on Seymour’s comments, saying the Act leader was “acting like a brat” in her view.
Luxon disagreed and said the bill was the “number one issue” for Act’s supporters but it was not a position shared by most New Zealanders, he believed.
“As a party, they have a constituency and people who think this is a very big issue, it’s the number one issue, for them. The reality is, that’s not the reality for New Zealanders.”
Luxon claimed the matter had not prompted him to encourage Seymour to tone down his language, saying there were “a lot of conversations behind the scenes with all the parties” but they were done in a “calm and coherent” way.
In October, a Taxpayers’ Union Curia poll found 60% of the 926 respondents supported the bill, with 18 per cent opposing the idea and the remaining 22 per cent saying they were unsure.
However, that poll asked respondents based on the bill’s principles as they were proposed then. Cabinet this week agreed on the three principles to be included in the Treaty Principles Bill, which revealed a change to Seymour’s originally proposed second principle.
It now includes recognition of the rights of hapū and iwi when the Treaty was signed and states those rights differed from those afforded to others “only when they are specified in legislation, Treaty settlements, or other agreement with the Crown”.
Ministry of Justice officials warned the bill would lead to the existing Treaty principles being replaced with new “significantly narrower” principles.
The Regulatory Impact Statement issued alongside Seymour’s statement considered the status quo, as it functions now, and defining the principles in legislation, as Seymour has proposed.
Although the bill could “have some value”, officials believed the “status quo is more beneficial”, the document said.
“Under this option, the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal would continue to articulate the meaning of the Treaty principles in line with the existing legislation and practice. This option would uphold Treaty obligations to the same extent as they are now.”
The analysis was finalised in late August when the final content of the principles had yet to be determined, but said the policy proposal was inconsistent with the Treaty/te Tiriti.
This morning, lobby group Hobson’s Pledge - led by former National and Act Party leader Don Brash - railed against the change to the second principle, opposing what it believed was Cabinet agreeing to “two levels of rights”.
In an email, supporters were urged to “get as many submissions on the Bill as possible” that opposed the current wording of the second principle
It encouraged supporters to make donations to assist with the group’s desire to create a website to facilitate submissions and run social media campaigns.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
