Parliament erupts as Treaty Principles Bill passes first reading

Vote takes us closer to building our future on a false foundation

Today a fictional interpretation of te Tiriti o Waitangi passed its first reading in Parliament. It was met with stirring and passionate speeches by the opposition, including calling on MPs to do the right thing and vote with their conscience. The Bill’s  first reading comes the day after 42 King’s Counsels sent an open letter which concurred with my earlier analysis that the Treaty Principles Bill would not just rewrite the Treaty principles, but also the Treaty articles themselves as they apply in law.

The King’s Counsels wrote, “The coalition government’s Treaty Principles Bill seeks to redefine in law the meaning of te Tiriti, by replacing the existing “Treaty Principles” with new Treaty Principles which are said to reflect the three articles of te Tiriti. The problem is that they do not. [emphasis added] By imposing a contested definition of the three articles, the Bill seeks to rewrite the Treaty itself.

“The Treaty Principles Bill would have the effect of unilaterally changing the meaning of te Tiriti and its effect in law, without the agreement of Māori as the Treaty partner.”

Their letter continued,

“Even if Parliament can legislate in this way (which is uncertain), it should not do so because it is not for the government of the day to retrospectively and unilaterally reinterpret constitutional treaties. This would offend the basic principles which underpin New Zealand’s representative democracy.

“In governing for all New Zealanders, the coalition government, like those before it, is obliged to respect the rule of law and the constitution of our representative democracy, including te Tiriti. We call upon the Prime Minister and the coalition government to act responsibly now and abandon the Bill.”

Despite the uncertainty raised by the King’s Counsels as to whether Parliament can actually pass the Treaty Principles Bill, the coalition government unanimously voted for the Bill at the First Reading. In doing so they chose to honour the coalition agreement over the Treaty, the rule of law and our constitution, and no doubt for some of them over their own consciences. The Select Committee process is now looming immediately before us.

MPs from all political parties, other than ACT, spoke against the Bill. The other coalition parties expressed their distinct perspectives – New Zealand First that there is no such thing as Treaty principles, and the National Party that they do not agree with the simplistic approach and prefer a case-by-case approach to the Treaty.

All opposition parties spoke powerfully against the Bill, naming the place it has now claimed in the history of the terrible Crown transgressions against our Indigenous people, actions we thought had been relegated to the past.

National’s Paul Goldsmith spoke about the importance of adhering to Treaty commitments made and reminded that many democracies have ‘kinks’ in them. However, he also reinforced the need to uphold the basic principles of democracy.

The auto-generated captions on Parliament TV made a Freudian slip in transcribing Goldsmith’s speech and wrote,

“At the same time to Donald Trump too far from basic equality would be an invitation to disaster.” (His actual words were “At the same time to *drift too far from basic equality…”.)

The Treaty Principles Bill is indeed a Donald Trump too far from basic equality – invoking misinformation and the inversion of reality for political gain. Actually honouring te Tiriti would ensure we take steps towards basic equality, through taking world-leading actions which uphold Indigenous rights as part of our modern democracy and address the lack of equality caused by colonisation.

During question time, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngārewa-Packer attempted to bring a point of order that the Minister was misleading the House, however, was informed by the Speaker that such a complaint must be made in writing.

Green Co-Leader Chloe Swarbrick questioned the Prime Minister’s constitutional right to prevent National MPs from voting with their conscience on one of the most significant constitutional issues in living memory. She later reminded all MPs that they cannot be prevented from choosing how they vote and doing the right thing.

During the debate, Labour’s Willie Jackson spoke passionately about the Bill and te Tiriti, and conveyed a message from those on the hīkoi, which concluded with calling David Seymour a liar. He was asked to withdraw and apologise, which he said he was not able to do and subsequently was asked to leave the House.

Labour’s Duncan Webb described the Bill as a shameful return to some of the worst pieces of legislation Parliament had ever passed, saying “Christopher Luxon, you are presiding over the most racist piece of legislation in 100 years.”

He described the Bill as disrespectful at best and hateful at worst, and anticipated how future generations would look back on this. He called the Select Committee process futile, and said that the Government should be ashamed.

Following the final speech, the House moved instantly to voting, meaning that Chloe Swarbrick missed the crucial moment to call for a personal vote as the party vote was already underway. It probably wouldn’t have made any material difference, and as she said, all MPs will go down on the record and be remembered for how they voted today.

A powerful haka broke out at the conclusion of the vote count. The Speaker watched on, then suspended Parliament until the ringing of the bells and ordered the gallery to be cleared.

This turbulent first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill underscores the significant constitutional stakes involved. With each step forward, the Government faces a profound choice: uphold the foundational principles of genuine equality, democracy and Indigenous rights, or risk building our future on a false foundation by unilaterally reshaping the Treaty’s meaning.

Today’s vote will be remembered, but the decisions yet to come could define New Zealand’s course in ways that will be irretrievable.