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Before we get to my submission, here are some guides to writing your own.
* Emily Writes: How to make a submission against the Treaty Principles Bill
* No Right Turn: Submit to defend te Tiriti!
* Green Party:
Make a submission - Treaty Principles Bill
* NZCTU: How to make a submission on the Treaty Principles Bill
* PPTA: How to make a submission on the Treaty Principles Bill
* Greenpeace: Treaty principles bill submission guide
* Honour The Treaty: Submissions
And the official online submission form.
If you want to draw on mine as inspiration for your own personalised submission go right ahead, but please write something unique, don't cut and paste from this without making it clear that you are quoting from another submission :)
I/We wish to make the following comments:
As a New Zealand / Aotearoa voter I wish it it be on record that I vehemently oppose the "Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill".
There are many reasons to oppose this bill. A big red flag is that I feel the /need/ to specify in making a submission on government business that I am a fourth generation pākehā with not a drop of Māori blood as far as I have been able to determine, as I write to oppose it.
I'm sure others will write at length about any of the legalities, such as the one side does not get to rewrite or solely interpret the terms of an international treaty or decades of legal precedent. These are the acts of a conqueror not a treaty partner, of an authoritarian ruler not a democratic government.
No legitimate government of New Zealand / Aotearoa, whose job it is to represent /all/ people of our country not just those who supported the governing parties[1], should have spent time and resources raising a bill which proposes such things.
[1] Voting being how we choose our representatives not who they represent. Otherwise anyone who cast a vote for an electorate candidate who did not win could rightly claim not to be represented equally in Parliament.
Even having one government willing to promote effectively rewriting our founding agreement at this level, regardless of the predetermined outcome of failure, should be enough to give parties with which we have or seek other agreements over e.g. trade and foreign affairs good reason to pause and reconsider. That damage, unfortunately, has already been done.
Actually doing so shows massive disrespect not only to Māori but to
* every living believer in a properly democratic and multicultural New Zealand / Aotearoa,
* those members of the British Empire whose efforts to do things a better way than their history of subjugation and elimination of native peoples and cultures also made Te Tiriti possible,
* those involved in the (ongoing) process of hashing out existing principles of Te Tiriti by negotiation and legal process over a period of decades, as settler New Zealand has begun to come to terms with the crimes committed against Māori by our previous/current generations and begin restitution and reconciliation,
* every taxpayer whose contribution is being wasted getting to this predetermined outcome instead of being put into health, education, social welfare, policing or any other of our many struggling public institutions.
~~~
This bill to me does not speak to the principles of co-operation and inclusion which underlie the founding and evolution of New Zealand / Aotearoa society, but instead of the politics of assimilation.
This bill speaks of treating all people the same, regardless of their actual needs and history while it ignores
* the fact that Te Tiriti, like the majority of international agreements, is not about individual rights but collective rights, it is an agreement between two sovereign peoples.
* the fact that /any/ individual right which might be considered to bestowed on a Māori individual by dint of Te Tiriti can already also be found to apply to any other equivalent non-Māori individual through other legislation, such as the New Zealand Bill Of Rights Act 1990.
* the fact that a one-size-fits-all approach has never worked - not in health where we treat a broken bone differently from a cancer, not in education where we treat a primary school child differently from a tertiary student, not in housing where different environments, different family sizes, or different physical limitations all call for different design features. The same can be applied to differences between cultures, or indeed stemming from being born into any section or sub-culture of society which is comparatively deprived or privileged.
* the fact that there are already many aspects of society where being a certain "type" of person gains you greater, fewer or different rights even under existing legislation. Landlord versus tenant (and property owners who have the right to vote in more than one local body election versus everyone else), employer versus employee, incarcerated (or under 18) versus having the right to vote, anything where a licence is required (e.g. driving).
There are a great many imbalances even just in the preceding list that would see greater benefit to all New Zealanders by being addressed, before becoming concerned that those hewing closer to one particular part of our shared culture might have privileges not shared by the other. Moreover, this bill leaves unsaid but clearly implies that this "equal treatment" must be the one established by the norms of European-centric colonialism, from which we have inherited our current "Westminster" system of government and so many assumptions about how society "should" work.
After all, I am sure you can imagine how the proponents of this bill would react to the suggestion of legislating that all New Zealanders be treated according to the principles of te ao Māori.
I/We wish to make the following recommendations:
* I acknowledge that the principles as currently understood may continue to be refined or evolve over time, but this /must/ be by due process and proper consideration, not at the swipe of a legislators pen or the narrowly defined options of a referendum which would in no way be able to capture the complexity of the topic.
* Despite my opposition to the bill / process / unnecessary expenditure, now that it is underway I would not wish for the consultation process to be cut short. Everyone should have the opportunity to make their submission, and I can only hope that the sheer number of submissions against the bill will refute the idea that a referendum on the topic at any point in the future could serve any useful purpose.
* I would recommend that the political parties that make up the current governing coalition of New Zealand
- make a public and heartfelt apology to all of New Zealand / Aotearoa for their poor judgement in this matter, the damage they have caused to Māori / Crown relations and our international reputation, and the time and productivity lost to those standing/hikoi-ing/submitting in opposition to this bill.
- publicly and vocally support and commit to upholding the existing Te Tiriti principles
- publicly and vocally commit to the ongoing Te Tiriti reconciliation and restitution process through the Waitangi Tribunal and the recommendations of other investigations which reveal that Māori have been disproportionately negatively affected by Crown actions, such as the recent Abuse In Care inquiry.
I do not wish to make an oral submission to the committee.
* Emily Writes: How to make a submission against the Treaty Principles Bill
* No Right Turn: Submit to defend te Tiriti!
* Green Party:
Make a submission - Treaty Principles Bill
* NZCTU: How to make a submission on the Treaty Principles Bill
* PPTA: How to make a submission on the Treaty Principles Bill
* Greenpeace: Treaty principles bill submission guide
* Honour The Treaty: Submissions
And the official online submission form.
If you want to draw on mine as inspiration for your own personalised submission go right ahead, but please write something unique, don't cut and paste from this without making it clear that you are quoting from another submission :)
I/We wish to make the following comments:
As a New Zealand / Aotearoa voter I wish it it be on record that I vehemently oppose the "Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill".
There are many reasons to oppose this bill. A big red flag is that I feel the /need/ to specify in making a submission on government business that I am a fourth generation pākehā with not a drop of Māori blood as far as I have been able to determine, as I write to oppose it.
I'm sure others will write at length about any of the legalities, such as the one side does not get to rewrite or solely interpret the terms of an international treaty or decades of legal precedent. These are the acts of a conqueror not a treaty partner, of an authoritarian ruler not a democratic government.
No legitimate government of New Zealand / Aotearoa, whose job it is to represent /all/ people of our country not just those who supported the governing parties[1], should have spent time and resources raising a bill which proposes such things.
[1] Voting being how we choose our representatives not who they represent. Otherwise anyone who cast a vote for an electorate candidate who did not win could rightly claim not to be represented equally in Parliament.
Even having one government willing to promote effectively rewriting our founding agreement at this level, regardless of the predetermined outcome of failure, should be enough to give parties with which we have or seek other agreements over e.g. trade and foreign affairs good reason to pause and reconsider. That damage, unfortunately, has already been done.
Actually doing so shows massive disrespect not only to Māori but to
* every living believer in a properly democratic and multicultural New Zealand / Aotearoa,
* those members of the British Empire whose efforts to do things a better way than their history of subjugation and elimination of native peoples and cultures also made Te Tiriti possible,
* those involved in the (ongoing) process of hashing out existing principles of Te Tiriti by negotiation and legal process over a period of decades, as settler New Zealand has begun to come to terms with the crimes committed against Māori by our previous/current generations and begin restitution and reconciliation,
* every taxpayer whose contribution is being wasted getting to this predetermined outcome instead of being put into health, education, social welfare, policing or any other of our many struggling public institutions.
~~~
This bill to me does not speak to the principles of co-operation and inclusion which underlie the founding and evolution of New Zealand / Aotearoa society, but instead of the politics of assimilation.
This bill speaks of treating all people the same, regardless of their actual needs and history while it ignores
* the fact that Te Tiriti, like the majority of international agreements, is not about individual rights but collective rights, it is an agreement between two sovereign peoples.
* the fact that /any/ individual right which might be considered to bestowed on a Māori individual by dint of Te Tiriti can already also be found to apply to any other equivalent non-Māori individual through other legislation, such as the New Zealand Bill Of Rights Act 1990.
* the fact that a one-size-fits-all approach has never worked - not in health where we treat a broken bone differently from a cancer, not in education where we treat a primary school child differently from a tertiary student, not in housing where different environments, different family sizes, or different physical limitations all call for different design features. The same can be applied to differences between cultures, or indeed stemming from being born into any section or sub-culture of society which is comparatively deprived or privileged.
* the fact that there are already many aspects of society where being a certain "type" of person gains you greater, fewer or different rights even under existing legislation. Landlord versus tenant (and property owners who have the right to vote in more than one local body election versus everyone else), employer versus employee, incarcerated (or under 18) versus having the right to vote, anything where a licence is required (e.g. driving).
There are a great many imbalances even just in the preceding list that would see greater benefit to all New Zealanders by being addressed, before becoming concerned that those hewing closer to one particular part of our shared culture might have privileges not shared by the other. Moreover, this bill leaves unsaid but clearly implies that this "equal treatment" must be the one established by the norms of European-centric colonialism, from which we have inherited our current "Westminster" system of government and so many assumptions about how society "should" work.
After all, I am sure you can imagine how the proponents of this bill would react to the suggestion of legislating that all New Zealanders be treated according to the principles of te ao Māori.
I/We wish to make the following recommendations:
* I acknowledge that the principles as currently understood may continue to be refined or evolve over time, but this /must/ be by due process and proper consideration, not at the swipe of a legislators pen or the narrowly defined options of a referendum which would in no way be able to capture the complexity of the topic.
* Despite my opposition to the bill / process / unnecessary expenditure, now that it is underway I would not wish for the consultation process to be cut short. Everyone should have the opportunity to make their submission, and I can only hope that the sheer number of submissions against the bill will refute the idea that a referendum on the topic at any point in the future could serve any useful purpose.
* I would recommend that the political parties that make up the current governing coalition of New Zealand
- make a public and heartfelt apology to all of New Zealand / Aotearoa for their poor judgement in this matter, the damage they have caused to Māori / Crown relations and our international reputation, and the time and productivity lost to those standing/hikoi-ing/submitting in opposition to this bill.
- publicly and vocally support and commit to upholding the existing Te Tiriti principles
- publicly and vocally commit to the ongoing Te Tiriti reconciliation and restitution process through the Waitangi Tribunal and the recommendations of other investigations which reveal that Māori have been disproportionately negatively affected by Crown actions, such as the recent Abuse In Care inquiry.
I do not wish to make an oral submission to the committee.
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