This column originally said Dame Jenny Shipley had refused to answer her phone to media over her ‘civil war’ comment. This was incorrect. When approached via text message by Newstalk ZB, Shipley responded saying she was in Hong Kong speaking at a conference and couldn’t do an interview.
THREEKEY FACTS
While the hīkoi is chiefly a protest against Act’s Treaty Principles Bill, protesters say they are also opposed to other Government policies that undermine the rights of Māori.
The four-page Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading with support from the coalition government parties, and is now before the justice select committee.
The select committee opened for written public submissions last week. It will take submissions up until January 7. The committee expects to hold hearings for oral submissions from 27 January through to the end of February.
Some opponents of the Treaty Principles Bill may need to calm their induced hysteria a bit.
Former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley - for example - should regret using the words “civil war”. She has yet to give any further interviews on the topic after her initial comments.
That kind of alarmist language helps no one other than making other hysterics feel vindicated in being hysterical. It may actually be a little dangerous to introduce the idea that David Seymour is asking for violence.
If Shipley was hoping that saying cool things might start rehabbing her reputation post the Mainzeal whoopsie, she probably knows by now that didn’t work.
Labour also needs a cup of tea and lie down to calm their nerves.
They’ve been doing their best pantomime of losing their minds over the Evil Bill.
That includes repeating what the left itself now loves to call “disinformation”. Senior MP Willie Jackson keeps on shouting (literally, shouting at times) that Seymour wants to rewrite the Treaty.
That is factually untrue. No one’s touching the Treaty. Seymour’s redefining the principles. They are not in the Treaty. They were created only in 1987. They were acknowledged by a government in 1989. They have been re-acknowledged and changed in 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1995.
So if they clearly are changeable, what’s the problem with changing them again?
The Labour hysteria also included senior MP Ginny Andersen on ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast Show on Wednesday accusing the Prime Minister of “disrespecting Parliament by introducing a bill that he plans to kill”.
Labour’s Willie Jackson - the party might want to drop their line of attack at the risk of looking like a bunch of historically uninformed hypocrites. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Look, I’m no fan of the way Christopher Luxon has ballsed this up either, but the Labour Party aren’t really in a position to be throwing “disrespect” around.
They showed Parliament virtually exactly the same “disrespect” nearly 20 years ago. Swap out National and Act for Labour and NZ First. Swap out the Treaty Principles Bill for the Treaty Principles Deletion Bill. Swap out 2024 for 2006. And you have a mirror situation.
Back in the mid-2000s, NZ First wanted to introduce the Treaty Principles Deletion Bill. Their major coalition partner Labour agreed, but would only take it to select committee and no further.
So Labour might want to drop that particular line of attack - at the risk of looking like a bunch of historically uninformed hypocrites.
And while they’re at it read Hansard, the record of what is said in Parliament.
They’ll find their very own, much-loved Nanaia Mahuta said some things that could’ve come straight out of David Seymour’s mouth: “The principle of equality is that all New Zealanders are equal under the law.”
With the same views like that she could have been an Act MP.
And then: “Sending this Bill to a select committee allows a debate to occur. We are not afraid of that”.
She wasn’t afraid. But Labour 2024 is. And Jenny Shipley is.
But we are clearly going to have a debate. Because the bill is going to select committee for at least six months, like it or not.
The only choice we now have is how we have that debate. It’s either hysterical or it’s adult. That choice is up to each of us.
And actually, the hīkoi showed us it is possible to make the point without getting hysterical.
