Hand in hand: Te Tiriti and Parliament

On the footsteps of parliament on May 21, around 1000 people stood in solidarity with Te Pati Māori. Three of their MPs faced suspensions for the viral haka sparked by the debate of the Treaty Principles Bill. The Privileges committee named the haka ‘disorderly’ for interrupting a vote. Māori party leaders Debbie Ngarewa Packer and Rawiri Waititi face 21-day suspensions, while Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke faces 7 days.

This haka was heard around the world. While many praised Te Pati Māori, certain members of the house were not as happy. To describe the use of haka in debate as ‘disorderly’ can be considered concerning for tangata Māori, because haka extends across many platforms, especially through debate.

On May 21 the haka was heard again in protest, this time outside the doors of the Beehive from those standing with Te Pati Māori facing, as they said, ‘the worst punishment handed down ever in our history.’ On this day, New Zealand’s youngest member of parliament, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke lay down a new bill which proposed members of parliament must be educated about Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Image by Leroy de Thierry on Unsplash.

The Bill requires a Parliamentary Service Commission that would develop a te ao Māori strategy for members of parliament to have opportunities in training and development so they can engage with Te Tiriti in an appropriate manner and understand the perspectives of Māori. Te Pati Māori have expressed before entering the debating chamber, one should be properly educated about Te Tiriti.

We have seen the regard in which certain members of parliament hold Te TIriti and its principles, and it is clear many seem to be uneducated on it and the perspectives of Māori as tangata whenua.

I talked to Tina Mihaere Rees, managing director of Te Mana Tū Education and Consultancy, which practices education and training on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, The Treaty of Waitangi, Te Reo Māori and Tikanga Māori.

When discussing the importance of upholding Te Tiriti in parliament, Mihaere Rees pointed out that New Zealand Parliament only exists because of rangatira making an agreement for British settlers to live among them due to the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. She said “I think it is important for MPs to be educated on Te Tiriti o Waitangi because they are sitting in the very institution that the non-Māori partner to Te Tiriti established by enactment of the NZ Constitution Act 1852.”

Mihaere Rees said “some might say that the process of the establishment of Parliament and the institution of Parliament itself as a site of power derived from Westminster in England, a country on the opposite side of the world was the first major breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.” She believes it is important for Members of Parliament to understand where their power derives from and why, within the government and systems of power, Māori have such an absence.

She used Act Party leader David Seymour and his highly debated Regulatory Standards Bill as an example of a Member of Parliament who does not uphold Te Tiriti. She said “the Regulatory Standards Bill poses a threat to the articles and the agreement made in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, therefore the limited power Māori have today to exercise their tino rangatiratanga. Not only this, the bill is a threat to modern western democracy because it gives the Government powers that are greater and that reach further than laws and policies are allowed to.”

The Regulatory Standards Bill, like the Treaty Principles Bill, has caused major division across Aotearoa. Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke’s bill ignites hope for tangata Māori and tangata tiriti who want to move forward as a country with Te Tiriti and our parliament functioning together hand in hand.