Justin Tipa's speech on Waitangi Day showed "the leadership that has been missing in the debate not just over the Treaty Principles Bill but the direction of the country and how the Treaty should fit into our constitutional monarchy in modern times," writes Audrey Young. Photo / Supplied
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Welcome to Inside Politics. The best thing about the Prime Minister’s absence from Waitangi this year is that it shone a light on the best speech anyone has given about nationhood and the Treaty of Waitangi in many years – not his I hasten to add.
Had Christopher Luxon not gone to Ōnuku in Akaroa, Justin Tipa, the chair of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, may not have given the speech he did. While bickering continued at Waitangi over whether Luxon should have been there, over Shane Jones' threats to defund the Waitangi National Trust, and whether it is better for the Crown to be insulted on the Upper Treaty Ground or at Te Tii Marae, Tipa spoke truth to power.
He showed the leadership that has been missing in the debate not just over the Treaty Principles Bill but the direction of the country and how the Treaty should fit into our constitutional monarchy in modern times.
Tipa got above the toxic arguments to give more of an elevated view. You can see it at the top of the blog in the first story listed below, but here is a flavour of it:
“Too much of the conversation has been focused on abstract philosophical debates about the nature of sovereignty and the true meaning of liberalism. Rather than helping us to deepen and refine our understanding of modern New Zealand as it actually exists, these abstract philosophical debates have been used as smokescreens to advance shallow ideological agendas and play party politics.
“True political leadership is about meeting people where they are and synthesising the interests of various strands of society into a workable whole. It’s a complex and messy task, but it’s important. Because when there’s an absence of this type of leadership, voices that represent comparatively simpler and shallower viewpoints, begin to shine through. Not because of the strength of their position or mandate, but because they’ve got a simple philosophy that provides simple answers to the complex questions we are inevitably confronted with. This is why our political debates – particularly those concerning the Treaty – have come to be dominated by minor parties....
“As a country, we need to learn to talk about rangatiratanga, not race. So much of the Treaty Principles debate has been confused by the conflation of Article 2 and Article 3 rights. In fact, I’m sure some people – definitely David Seymour – deliberately conflate them for that purpose. There’s a fundamental difference between the Article 2 rights of iwi Māori – which are concerned with particular sets of collective rights and the ability of iwi to exercise authority over those rights – and Article 3 rights – which are concerned with equal social and legal rights for individuals in a free and democratic society. It’s simply not true that the rangatiratanga rights of iwi Māori are incompatible with the idea of ‘equal rights for all’ or democracy. Rangatiratanga – guaranteed in Article 2 of the Treaty – isn’t about establishing additional social or legal rights for individual Māori citizens, over and above those of the rest of the population. It’s also not about challenging the Crown’s right to govern. Ngāi Tahu does not seek national sovereignty; we assert our rangatiratanga in our takiwā. Equality when it comes to rangatiratanga is about ensuring equal treatment in how the particular rights of iwi Māori are upheld and protected under the law.”
Christopher Luxon’s address at Ōnuku was thin by comparison to Tipa’s. It was sprinkled with platitudes (“We need a lot less No and a lot more Yes,” “This year is all about Going for Growth”) and references to current policies such as the Fast Track legislation and appointment of a South Island Minister. But it lacked the gravitas and vision that would have been appreciated in a speech by a Prime Minister at a difficult time.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins did better at Waitangi, speaking without notes, and giving a fairly brief speech about the importance of listening. But the finest contribution by any current or former Prime Minister this year came from Dame Jenny Shipley in an interview yesterday with Julian Wilcox on RNZ. She put the current tensions in a historical perspective, seeing them in the context of an increasingly improving relationship between the Crown and Māori. She also put the valuable work of the Waitangi Tribunal into perspective, and defended the proposed review of it after 50 years. It was an uplifting and positive interview. As journalist Richard Harman has noted, she is New Zealand’s Jimmy Carter, whose work since leaving office is what distinguishes her.
Dame Iritana Tāwhiwhirangi, the driving force behind Kōhanga Reo, has died, aged 95. When you think of how important Kōhanga Reo has been to the Māori renaissance under way right now, you can get a sense of the importance of her place in history.
Māoridom has lost two of its most effective and influential leaders in modern times this year, the other being Dame Tariana Turia, aged 78. As NZ First’s Shane Jones put it: “Dame Iritana was in the major league of Māoridom – old enough to have personally known, heard and spoken with the great MP Sir Apirana Ngata and young enough to spearhead a key Māori renaissance initiative, the kōhanga reo.”
She belonged to Act in the early days and later on joined the Māori Party, standing at No 9 on its list in 2008. Labour’s Willie Jackson has written a piece about her drive for the Herald’s Kahu section and said she rang him at 5.30am once a week to give him riding instructions. Act leader David Seymour called her “a wonderful sounding board” to him personally and a powerful supporter of charter schools kura hourua. No doubt she would have been thrilled at the reopening on Waitangi Day of Tipene charter school, a reincarnation of the old St Stephen’s.
Former National Cabinet Minister Nikki Kaye instructed her closest friends before she died of cancer in November that she did not want a funeral. She wanted no misery. In the end, she reluctantly agreed they could have a small party. That’s how 225 people came to gather at the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron last Friday to toast her life. Attendees ranged from Ruth Richardson, Jenny Shipley and Michelle Boag to Marama Davidson, Chlöe Swarbrick and Chris Hipkins.
Former Prime Minister John Key and several of her closest friends spoke. By the time her former senior private secretary and friend Celia, spoke, it was clear that despite Kaye’s many qualities, being organised was not among them. Celia began with a roll call: 109 parliamentary access cards, 18 credit cards, and 13 phone chargers had been misplaced in their time working together.
National pollster and old friend David Farrar was the MC for the event to celebrate Nikki Kaye’s life and couldn’t resist pulling out one from his treasure trove of stories. It was just before National’s campaign launch for the 2002 election and Kaye was the junior National Party staffer who had done much of the work in the previous few months on “Paintergate” [a painting Helen Clark had signed for a charitable cause, though not having painted it herself]. A carload of fellow partisan staffers were driving to Auckland for the campaign launch and she thought she would play a prank on them. She had texted them to say Helen Clark had just been arrested over Paintergate. Kaye had intended to text them five minutes later to declare it just a practical joke. But she hadn’t reckoned on them getting the text just at the start of the Desert Rd and being out of signal contact for the next hour. The carload of young Nats, including Farrar, spent the next hour in a state of glorious delusion that the “arrest” would collapse the Labour vote and hand victory to National’s Bill English. After Nikki Kaye finally made contact to say it wasn’t true, Farrar turned the joke back on her and told her he had already messaged someone at a Chamber of Commerce conference in Auckland and that it had been relayed to hundreds of attendees. (Labour romped home in 2002 and National’s result remains its worst, at 20.93%.)
Willie Jackson on the late Dame Iritana Tāwhiwhirangi: “She was so neat, and 10 years ago when I found out we were born on the same date, March 21, I told her I would send her a text wishing her happy birthday for the rest of her life. So on every birthday, I would text, ‘Happy birthday you old bag’.”
What are the names of the two electorates in which Akaroa sits and the names of the two MPs representing them?
Goes to Ngātiwai leader Aperahama Edwards who twice took away David Seymour’s microphone during his speech at Waitangi, trampling not just on Seymour’s right to speak but everyone else’s right to hear. (Good on Waihoroi Shortland for returning the mic stand).
Goes to Ngāi Tahu leader Justin Tipa for a brilliant speech on Waitangi Day.
Political Waitangi Day: While bickering continued at Waitangi, Justin Tipa, the chair of Te Rūnanga of Ngāi Tahu, spoke truth to power.
OPINION - the battles of Waitangi: It’s the David Seymour show. No, wait, it’s the Shane Jones show! The Government parties were jostling for leadership at Waitangi.
Funding threats: NZ First minister Shane Jones says future Government funding for the Waitangi National Trust should not be given unless they “buck their ideas up” after what he described as a “circus” pōwhiri for Parliament.
Waitangi protests: David Seymour’s microphone was taken away from him as protesters turned their backs during his speech at Waitangi.
‘Xenophobic’ comments: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says remarks made in the House about Mexicans which have been branded ‘xenophobic’ by the Green Party are “not words I would use”.
Vale Dame Iritana Tāwhiwhirangi: Tributes were flowing this week for Kōhanga Reo pioneer Dame Iritana Tāwhiwhirangi, who died aged 95.
Indecent assault: Act leader David Seymour is standing by his party’s response to a warning its former president was a sexual predator.
Beneficiary sanctions: The Government is planning to introduce fresh sanctions to its new beneficiary traffic light scheme.
Quiz answer: Banks Peninsula is represented by National’s Vanessa Weenink, and Te Tai Tonga is represented by Te Pāti Māori’s Tākuta Ferris.
For more political news and views, listen to On the Tiles, the Herald’s politics podcast.
The stolen oysters were the award-winning AMS Qyster with a distinctive ‘Q’ brand.