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Tens of thousands of New Zealanders rallied before parliament on Tuesday in one of the country's largest ever protests to oppose a bill that opponents say seeks to dilute the rights of Maori and threatens to set race relations back decades.
Massive crowds estimated by police at 35,000 gathered at parliament where the Treaty Principles Bill was introduced earlier this month by legislators who want to reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty signed between the British and Indigenous Maori.
The libertarian ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the ruling centre-right coalition government, is seeking to enshrine a narrower interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi that it says discriminates against non-Indigenous citizens.
While the bill lacks enough support to pass, critics see in it a desire to reverse decades of policies that aimed to empower Maori, who make up around 20% of the 5.3 million population and are over-represented in measures of social disadvantage.
Tens of thousands began chanting "kill the bill" when ACT leader David Seymour stepped out of parliament before the crowd.
"I'm here for my grandchildren, my children and for their children", said Hoana Hadfield from Wellington, who was marching in a protest for the first time.
"I think it's important that we keep our kaupapa which is our values as Maori and our culture and its a real big thing for us to have cultural identity."
Some people in the crowd were dressed in traditional attire with feathered headgear and cloaks and carried traditional Maori weapons, while others wore t-shirts emblazoned with Toitu te Tiriti (Honor the Treaty).
The protest was preceded by a nine-day march, or hikoi, that began in the country's far north, with thousands joining rallies in towns and cities as marchers travelled south on foot and in cars to Wellington.
First signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Indigenous Maori chiefs, the Treaty lays down how the two parties agreed to govern.
The interpretation of clauses in the document still guides legislation and policy today, with rulings by the courts and a separate Maori tribunal expanding Maori rights and privileges over the decades.
ACT's coalition partners, the National Party and New Zealand First, agreed to support the legislation through the first of three readings but both have said they will not support it to become legislation.
A small number of politicians from the governing National Party will be available to meet with hikoi leaders, while Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is still deciding how to engage, a spokesman for the government said.
Abby Collier, 42, had travelled six hours from her home in Tairawhiti to participate in Tuesday's protest. She said she was supporting the movement because she believed unity was important.
"We are coming from across the country and showing our babies we can have a positive impact through kindness," Collier said.
© Thomson Reuters 2024.
23 Comments
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Ricky Kaminski13
Good luck with all that New Zealand. Maori rights and privileges and the road forward. Those who believe that the goal should be to reign in the entitlement and aim to treat ALL New Zealanders equally under the law will be branded as far-right extremists and racists ( the usual mush), even though it is the other side threatening a civil war if 'their special rights' are even questioned. Those hakas and face tattoos can be very powerful. Hope New Zealand can have the difficult discussions in a spirit of mutual respect and goodwill and come to an arrangement and agreement where everyone can feel happy. Easier said than done in these uncompromising political times. If anyone can do it though, New Zealand can.
Jay
Using the Treaty of Waitangi as a basis for modern policies that favor one racial group over others is deeply problematic. It creates a two-tiered system where rights and privileges are determined by ancestry, not citizenship. This is not justice - it’s a recipe for resentment and division. This is exactly the same reason why the "YES" campaign in Australia was soundly told to pipe down by the vast majority of the voting public.
The claim that New Zealand must prioritize Indigenous rights to rectify any alleged historical wrongdoings ignores the fact that no one alive today was party to those events. Generations of New Zealanders, both Māori and non-Māori, have built a shared future together. Policies that perpetuate racial distinctions only serve to reopen old wounds and foster inequality.
Underworld
Jay
There were promises in the treaty that should be honored.
And yet there isn't any resentment or division.
Completely different.
That's not what it's about. There are promises in the treaty.
New Zealand doesn't have policies that perpetuate racial distinctions only serve to reopen old wounds and foster inequality. In fact, it's the opposite.
kiwiboy
Are you kidding me? My sister missed out on getting into Law School in her first attempt because Maori with lower scores were given priority - quite literally the definition of racism. In a modern society, race shouldn't matter at all. The best people get the spots - as simple as that.
On my recent visit to NZ I was shocked to learn how in the public health system, you have many cases where Maori are being given priority for medical treatments based solely on their RACE, and not just their level of medical urgency. This kind of race-based treatment definitely leads to resentment and division.
Where promises don't stand with modern society (ie, any promises made on the basis of race), they should be scrapped. Rip it up if need be, and create one based on one country, for all New Zealanders in the 21st Century.
Everyone born in NZ today is equally New Zealander. Immigrants who naturalise become equally New Zealander. Everyone deserves equal rights in a one-law-for-all society based on personal merits. No special treatment just because you're 1% Maori.
In tackling the unfortunate situation where many Maori are in lower income households (which leads to higher instances of crime/imprisonment) I'm all for programs that help break bad cycles and lift people up - but they should be programs that target all low-income, high-risk households - not only to specific racial groups.
For example, my cousin married a Maori, so her kids are technically Maori. They're fairly well-off, but her kids will have a free education and they use the Maori ticket as much as they can. Why not, if it's possible, it's possible. But they don't need that special treatment, so shouldn't have access to it. Assistance programs should be based on NEED, completely race-blind.
Where do you live?
Alongfortheride
100% correct! One word describes the issue in NZ right now.... "Greed"
Alongfortheride
Are you serious?!! Thats actually quite funny! The biggest division between the 2 races in NZ ever is right now and over the past 5 years or so.
Jay
Except there is, clearly.
And wait, wait... I thought your side was supposedly all about treating everyone equally and ensuring policies benefit everyone, not just a select group?
How about let’s reject racial separatism and support a New Zealand that honors its diverse heritage without sacrificing equality.
dobre vam zajebava
Jacinda where are you?
Alongfortheride
Why? She was the one who started the separation between Maori and White's.
Fighto!
Māori should not be getting any extra benefits than the European, Asian and other ethnic groups living in New Zealand.
Having privileges for specific ethnic groups is just going to cause animosity.
TheRegulator
"Bill to rewrite indigenous rights" this is an incredible misrepresentation of what this bill is actually about.
Hawk
The Maori elites have been doing incredibly well under the status quo. The top ten iwi are worth just under 12 billion collectively, and the Maori economy is doing better than the national one.
Agreed. My sister married into a fabulously wealthy family, and her kids, with their 1/16 Maori ancestry, have access to all sorts of benefits that my kids, should I choose to raise them there, in not nearly so affluent circumstances, would not.
All New Zealanders should have the same rights.
Underworld
kiwiboy
Sounds unlikely.
Wellington.
Underworld
Alongfortheride
And yet there isn't any resentment or division.
Nope.
Underworld
Jay
And yet there isn't any resentment or division.
No. No, there isn't. Clearly.
My side? What side is that?
Yes. And also increasing participation of Māori and Pacifica in society.
That's what is happening.
wallace
According to reports the Bill will not pass.
Bad Haircut
After pouring petrol on the hot coals of racial division (among plenty of other things), she skedaddled when everything she touched turned to excrement, safe in the knowledge she's never have to be held accountable for anything she did.
Alongfortheride
Spot on! One of her election promises was to bring people out of poverty. And she did that with one person...her!
Alongfortheride
Your comments are 100% spot on correct!
Alongfortheride
Kiwiboy is 100% accurate in his words. The old saying.."There is no such thing as a free ride"..... that is of course unless you are Maori
Alongfortheride
Not going to....Has!
Underworld
Alongfortheride
Sure. But that's a racist old saying.
Alongfortheride
And?