Fold, Flee Or Fight

Cleaning The Augean Stables

Treaty Principles Bill Submission

Below is my submission on the Treaty Principles Bill. This is about some very important issues which affect New Zealand’s sovereignty, and the way in which we as a nation go forward. The current path that the country on is “divide and conquer” which does not bode well for the future of our democracy.

The bill has attracted more than 300,000 written submissions, with some very different points of view (RNZ Article). In the end, the coalition partners National and New Zealand First will not be supporting the bill past the first reading which means that the bill is dead. A pity.

I include a link to the submission by Hobson’s project which is one of the better ones I have seen, and which is also mentioned in the article. They propose a very useful amendment to clause 2 of the bill.

My submission to the select committee:

I support the treaty principles bill. I believe that the treaty of Waitangi is a very important document. It marks the founding of New Zealand as a nation, it is an important part of our history, and is something that should be cherished and protected.

The treaty clauses and hence the treaty principles are very simple (paraphrased below in my own words).

  1. The British crown is sovereign
  2. Property rights are protected
  3. All New Zealanders have equal citizenship rights

It is important to note that sovereignty of the British Crown was required in order for the Crown to guarantee property rights and grant citizenship. If there was no Crown sovereignty, then there were no ensuing property rights and no citizenship. If there was no Crown sovereignty the treaty is null and void because all three articles are moot.

Following the signing of the treaty, the British Crown installed a legal system, imposed law and order, instituted Maori Land Courts to determine land ownership, and integrated Maori as equal citizens before the law. The British Crown stopped the musket wars, abolished slavery, and abolished cannibalism. For the first time Maori had secure ownership of their lands without the threat of war. The Crown also developed a system of civil government, a monetary and tax system, and set about building institutions and infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and roads etc.

All of those acts required Crown sovereignty. Conversely, those acts are in fact required in order to have sovereignty. Without the ability to impose law and order and create public institutions, there is no national sovereignty.

It is not to say that everything was perfect. We are dealing with human nature after all. But for its day, the Treaty Of Waitangi was very enlightened and forward thinking. It is worth remembering that New Zealand was the only British colony with such a treaty. It is also worth noting that New Zealand was founded as a nation at a time when Germany and Italy did not exist as nation states.

New Zealand is now an independent democracy, and our parliament with the British sovereign at its head, is the successor of the British Crown. I believe that it is very important that the principles from the original treaty are preserved. New Zealand should resist those revisionist voices who are trying to revise the treaty and change its meaning. For our democracy to survive, we should all be equal before the law, and the New Zealand Parliament must remain sovereign.

I would like to address some specific revisionist claims.

It is claimed that the united tribes declaration of independence in 1835 overrules the Treaty of Waitangi. The united tribes made a genuine attempt to establish some kind of national governance framework. In the end they failed to establish law and order and a sovereign state. They could not agree on a national government, and they could not stop the musket wars. As a result, most or all of the united tribes later signed the Treaty of Waitangi. The later document should take precedence.

It is claimed that the Maori did not cede sovereignty to the crown. New Zealand did not exist as a sovereign nation prior the Treaty of Waitangi. The British Crown acted as sovereign and was accepted as sovereign from the signing of the treaty. As stated previously, sovereignty was required for the British Crown to guarantee property rights and grant citizenship, both of which were accepted by the Maori. If the Crown did not have sovereignty, all three of the articles of the treaty are null and void. If the Maori had sovereignty, why did they agree to the British Crown having authority to guarantee property, and grant citizenship. Those are sovereign perogatives.

It is claimed that there is a partnership between the Maori and the crown. There is no partnership in the treaty. There is no co-governance in the treaty. The partnership is between the people of New Zealand, the Maori and the settlers as equal citizens, together under the sovereign British Crown. Today, that is the partnership of the people of New Zealand as equal citizens, together under the sovereign Parliament. There is no partnership or co-governance between Maori and the New Zealand Parliament. Attempts to create a partnership between the crown and Maori, or a co- governance model will only divide New Zealand and destroy our national sovereignty.

The reference to partnership in the Treaty Of Waitangi Act should be repealed along with clause 4 (2A) in its entirety.

As a further note, the Waitangi Tribunal does not (or should not) have jurisdiction to decide matters of national sovereignty.

I fully support the intention of the bill to clarify the meaning of the so called “Treaty Principles”. The treaty principles should be based only on the original treaty, with no revisionist additions.

Thank you

Dr Tim Maltby


Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *