Why????
This question relates to two main issues:
- 1. Why are Maori trying so hard to divide the population by ethnicity?
- 2. What do they expect to gain from this?
1. The recently defeated Labour government was guilty of taking New Zealand down a path of race based co-governance by unelected tribal elite on the basis of a “mythical partnership” requirement of the Treaty of Waitangi.
I say “mythical” deliberately because when you read the Treaty document there is no mention of partnership or anything that remotely resembles a partnership requirement.
They passed much legislation that was undemocratic and race based with the justification for this being stated as; redressing historical wrongs of institutional racism against Maori.
But as a result of their reliance on the mythical partnership requirement that Labour government made many changes to legislation and proposed more, that have and may continue to significantly alter the fundamental principles upon which our country had been governed and on our democratic rights.
Many have spoken about the Crown sharing power and control with Maori and supporting by Maori for Maori solutions.
So let’s first address the issue of sharing power and control. The previous Labour government made many changes to legislation on the basis of race and justified those changes by claiming they were a requirement under the Treaty of Waitangi.
But as I have said many times, this is rubbish and a simple reading of the treaty document shows this to be the case. The Treaty consists of three sections.
The standard translation used by the Waitangi tribunal in the early 1990’s was made by Professor Sir Hugh Kawharu. Here is his full translation of the Treaty:
“The first: The chiefs of the Confederation and all the Chiefs who have not joined that Confederation give absolutely to the Queen of England for ever the complete government over their land.
“The second: The Queen of England agrees to protect the Chiefs, the Subtribes and all the people of New Zealand in the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship over their lands, villages and all their treasures. But on the other hand the Chiefs of the Confederation and all the Chiefs will sell land to the Queen at a price agreed by the person owning it and by the person buying it (the latter being) appointed by the Queen as her purchase agent.
“The third: For this agreed arrangement therefore concerning the Government of the Queen, the Queen of England will protect all the ordinary people of New Zealand (i.e. the Maori) and will give them the same rights and duties of citizenship as the people of England.”
There is no mention in the Treaty of a co-governance or partnership role as a part of the Treaty requirements. A ‘partnership’ between Maori and the Crown is constitutionally-impossible nonsense.
Any such partnership
would be a fundamental subversion of democracy. It is constitutionally impossible for the Crown to enter into a partnership with any of its subjects. The true position is that the Crown is sovereign but owes duties of justice and good faith to the Maori descendants of those who signed the treaty.
This duty of justice and good faith has finally been seen to be done through the process of the settlements of grievances under the Waitangi Tribunal and rightly so, yet still we see a section of the Maori people trying to claim non-existent rights under the Treaty.
It is my firm belief that the current proposals which revolve around a 50/50 sharing of governance between Maori and all other races in New Zealand is nothing more than a system of Apartheid with governance being controlled on the basis of race alone.
The reality of co-governance currently is that the so-called Maori elite that have been pushing hard for co-governance over the last few years have been riding the gravy train that has developed around the Treaty of Waitangi and the Waitangi Tribunal.
The push for division based on ethnicity is nothing more than an opportunity to try to enrich one section of the population at the expense of the rest. There were 887,493 people identifying as being part of the Maori ethnic group at the 2023 New Zealand census, making up 17.8% of New Zealand's population.
When we study the claims of institutionalised racism within New Zealand, we find that in most cases the answer lies with the personal choices of those involved and the effects resulting from those personal choices.
This is backed up by the statistics that show that the vast majority of Maori are employed in jobs that provide products and services, pay tax, are not in prison or serving a community sentence or order, and are not gang members.
No matter that the Treaty Grievance industry members may claim otherwise. Again they mostly make these claims so as to prolong their ability to benefit from the gravy train that has developed around the Treaty of Waitangi and the Waitangi Tribunal.
2. The answer to this second issue is simply to achieve non-existent rights under the Treaty and to gain significant financial recompense through the Waitangi Tribunal settlement process.
Since 1995 there have been 86 settlements with a total value of approximately $2.6 billion yet very little of that settlement money seems to have benefitted the Maori at the bottom of the food chain but the so-called elite seem to be well provided for.
We increasingly see the demands by iwi for compensation and control over a broad swathe of New Zealand life and business. One example being Auckland’s Watercare being obliged to pay a $2m annual fee to Waikato-Tainui for 20 years for water taken from the Waikato River not far from where it enters the sea which is widely viewed as unjustified indirect taxation extracted by what amounts in many people’s minds to a ransom — or perhaps standover — payment.
Recently, a Maori Working Group on Aerospace declared itself “shocked” that the Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology, hadn’t included consultation with iwi as part of its Aerospace and Advanced Aviation Strategy. Maori had never even got around to inventing the wheel prior to the European arrival on these shores, yet they seem to think they deserve a share of the benefits of space technology on account of that mythical “partnership” with the Crown.
The group, set up “to advocate for Maori rights and interests in aerospace”, was appalled that, unlike in 2023 under the Labour government, the strategy “makes no reference whatsoever to Maori, the Crown’s mythical partner under The Treaty of Waitangi” — thus losing the opportunity “to build and strengthen relationships with tangata whenua in the protection and appropriate use of aerospace resources”.
The group wants the nation’s burgeoning aerospace industry to develop policy “centred on tikanga” to enable “ethical and responsible exploration, caring for our environment, and unlocking economic and social benefits”. (Give us the money)
Part of the justification for Maori involvement turns on the mystical notion that space is a “taonga” because it is the realm that Ranginui — the “sky god” — inhabits. The irony of religious dogma having been the biggest impediment to the work of astronomers like Galileo, who was declared a heretic for asserting that the Earth orbits the Sun, is apparently lost on the activists.
A "Maori Spectrum Entity" received an ongoing allocation of 20 per cent of future national commercial spectrum allocations, at no cost, under a deal signed with the previous Labour government in February 2022.
Treaty settlements are not taxed. Settlement assets go to the post-settlement governance entity which may claim charitable status, exempting their business from income tax.
Tax (when payable) on Maori authority dividends is deducted at a rate of 17.5 percent rather than the normal dividend rate of 33 percent.
For example, South Island tribe Ngai Tahu announced a net worth of $1.147 billion in its 2014 report. Their tax free income (ignoring the Australian subsidiary income) is $157 million.
The tribe paid no tax on its New Zealand business operations, and distributed $6.5 million to runanga. No tax is attached to these distributions, as would be on dividends distributed to shareholders in non-charitable trading companies, which is at 33 percent.
The report also showed that some 44 directors and key management personnel have received over $5 million in short-term compensation and benefits. The number of employees being paid over $100,000 has increased to 92. Collectively they earn in the region of $20 million, with the top income earner receiving between $820,000 and $829,000. (2)
This tax-exemption gives a substantial competitive advantage.
Te Whiu chairman TeRau Allen-Arena, a Ngapuhi leader on the 2^nd^ October, told Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith, at Whitiora Marae that the country’s biggest iwi should get an $8.43 billion redress for generations of losses.
There may well have been less objections, if taxpayers had seen the billions of dollars that disappeared into “Maori initiatives” (such as the $10,000 koha paid to the Manurewa Marae by Statistics NZ for accepting a Census collection contract and a number of other Maori-centric organisations also paid substantial amounts simply for their co-operation) in the 2021/2022 budgets had lifted the living conditions, education and health statistics of some of our poorest citizens, but those improvements seem as far away as ever.
Yet the so-called “elite” (riders on the Waitangi Tribunal gravy train) seem to be well provided for.
When we take into account the answers to the two main issues as set out above it becomes abundantly clear why there is such a push back against the proposed Treaty Principles Bill being put forward by David Seymour, the Act party leader.
His Bill is seen as a threat to the Treaty Gravy Train that has been running for the past 50 years. As a result, barely a day goes by without someone being reported in the mainstream media denouncing Seymour and his bill.
Seymour’s Bill proposes a solution that should be unremarkable in a democracy but is being reported as subversive and revolutionary. He wants voters to be given the chance to decide their own constitutional future, but his proposal is seen as complete anathema to the so-called elite, who appear to believe that even allowing voters to discuss the matter of the Treaty’s place in New Zealand’s life is unacceptably risky.
His assessment is that even if the Treaty is considered as the nation’s founding document, it is no longer seen by many as relevant to the New Zealand of the 21st century. It is, in fact, the founding document for a bi-cultural New Zealand that no longer exists. As David Lange said in 2000; “The Treaty itself contains no principles which can usefully guide government or courts. It is a bald agreement, anchored in its time and place”.
Seymour’s position is that no matter what the Treaty says, or what various “experts” declare its articles actually mean, New Zealand has no future as a modern and prosperous nation if having even a miniscule amount of Maori ancestral blood can grant different political rights to that person.
The almost hysterical reaction to the prospect of a national debate or referendum on Treaty principles is a clear sign that the so-called elite fear his Bill will gain huge public support and they will lose their place on the Gravy Train. The taxpayer’s trough that they have had their snouts buried deep into for the past fifty odd years will be taken away and they may actually have to find a real job.
What we’re seeing with the push for ethnicity is manipulation of facts for political and financial gain. The 'mythical partnership' is being used to secure privileges that no other group in New Zealand enjoys, despite the fact that over 260 ethnicities call this country home.
These privileges—whether they’re related to land rights, legal status, or political representation—are dividing New Zealanders and fuelling resentment. How is this fair; why should one group get special treatment while the rest are expected to stay silent?
What New Zealand needs is one law for all. Equality, fairness, and justice cannot be achieved if we keep pandering to a distorted view of history. Every New Zealander, regardless of their ethnicity, should be treated equally under the law. Special privileges based on race undermine the very principles of democracy and unity that this country should stand for.
This should be about moving toward a fairer, more equal society where no group has special privileges based on ethnicity. New Zealanders need to wake up to this reality and demand that politicians have the guts to confront this divisive issue head-on.
It’s time to focus on creating a future where every New Zealander is treated with the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities—one law for all, no exceptions. The people of this country deserve nothing less.