Act Party leader David Seymour speaking to media at the Treaty Grounds ahead of Waitangi Day. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The Treaty Principles Bill has its first reading in Parliament today even though it’s doomed to fail - but that might be exactly what Act leader David Seymour wants.
The bill was introduced to Parliament last week – with its first reading debate scheduled for today.
It has sparked fierce criticism since it was included as part of National and Act’s coalition agreement last year.
Protests are expected outside Parliament today, while thousands of marchers protesting Government policies affecting Māori crossed the Auckland Harbour Bridge yesterday as part of a hīkoi to Parliament.
The hīkoi started at Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Rēinga) on Monday and will finish in Wellington next week.
The latest Waitangi Tribunal report on the policy warned whether the bill was actually enacted or not, its “impacts will not fade for a long time”.
“At present, the progressing of the bill is having serious impacts on the relationship ... but the bill, if enacted, would kill that relationship,” it said.
Newstalk ZB political editor Jason Walls told The Front Page National and NZ First have already said they will not support the bill past a first reading.
“It’s all about politics, right? You can say David Seymour definitely believes in this bill, his members believe in this bill, his supporters believe in it and think that it should become law - but Seymour knows that it’s not.
“So, you can cynically look at this and say it’s almost a bit of a bit of early advertisement for the 2026 election. He is looking to make a lot of noise about this bill and why it’s only the Act Party willing to do it.
“In fact, he’s actually thrown National under the bus a little bit with this in his rhetoric. He said the other day that the National Party aren’t prepared to tackle the hard issues. This would be a textbook example of a hard issue. So, he can take this to the next election and say it was Act who were the only ones that were actually keen on having a proper debate about this piece of legislation.
“He’s hoping there’ll be a lot of National Party supporters that will say: ‘Hang on a second, he’s right. The Nats didn’t have the stomach to go after something like this’,” Walls said.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said he’s open to meeting with protesters once they reach Parliament next week.
“There’s immense frustration in Māoridom around this Treaty Principles Bill and I understand why. I get that. Equally, as I have said, we are supporting it to first reading and won’t be supporting it beyond that,” he said on Monday.
Luxon has become a lot more on-the-nose when it comes to the bill, Walls said.
“He started off by saying they’ll support it in the first reading but we’re not sure what’s happening in the second reading. Then when more and more pressure was building on him his language changed.”
The bill will go to a select committee for six months from November to May.
After select committee, the bill is to be sent for second-reading debate in Parliament - where all parties but Act have promised to vote it down.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about the politics behind the bill, and why we’re talking about it even though there’s no chance of it making a third reading.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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