Signature of the Open letter to Christopher Luxon: Stop the Treaty Principles Bill by the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum – July 2024
“Dear Prime Minister Luxon,
It is the responsibility of the people in government to meet the basic standards of conventional democracy and governance. It is your collective role to act with integrity and make informed decisions that impact generations using the best knowledge, information and expertise available. The Government should always (and only) represent the needs of the people – not disregard them.
What is proposed in the ACT’s Anti-Treaty Bill promotes misinformation and is highly misleading to the people of this country. It is based on an ACT policy which displays the Parties’ complete disrespect for Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
A Bill as constitutionally destructive as this should not be dignified with a select committee hearing.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi clearly outlines commitments between Māori and the Crown. It makes it possible for tauiwi (non-Māori) to make a home here and have equal individual rights, while Māori retain their authority over their communities, lands and treasures. Te Tiriti o Waitangi provides the foundation for a partnership that many tauiwi, including Pākehā, are proud of. The Treaty Principles Bill seeks to destroy that foundation.
The Bill misrepresents the collective guarantee of Māori tino rangatiratanga into something it is not (and never could be) by erasing the inherent rights that Te Tiriti affirms and protects – as is demonstrated by the words of esteemed Professor Margaret Mutu and a renowned group of licensed translators.
We, the under-signed, ask the Prime Minister to stop the Treaty Principles Bill and ensure it is withdrawn prior to the select committee process.
At Waitangi this year, you, Prime Minister Luxon, said: “The Treaty is our past, present and future.” We hope those statements are more than just hollow rhetoric or empty words. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is an intrinsic foundation of our democracy and we need our elected leaders to respect it as such.
We call on you, Prime Minister: choose integrity and honour over distortion, disrespect, and division. Responding to this in good faith and withdrawing the bill before the select committee hearing, will demonstrate partnership in action and will be remembered for generations to come“.