The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, described by the Prime Minister as "divisive," was introduced in New Zealand's Parliament in November 2024. Many fear that, if passed into law, it will undermine the Treaty and reduce protections it guaranteed Māori; others favour the the Bill for the same reasons.
Protests against the Bill culminated in a hikoi (a peaceful protest march) from both ends of New Zealand, with a crowd of 42,000 assembling at Parliament to present a petition of 200,000 signatures against the bill. At the First Reading of the Bill in Parliament, some Members protested with a haka that resulted in Parliament being suspend for a time and one member being barred from Parliament for a day. The video of this went viral, with millions world-wide viewing it.
The Bill aims to make a rule that replaces the use of "principles" in using te Tiriti in the application of law today. If passed into law, it will limit use of te Tiriti to the specific meaning of words as used in 1840 when it was signed, without adapting to the changed context of New Zealand's present or future. As the Bill states, it would not alter the text of te Tiriti: it would simply nullify it, rendering the second article of the Treaty nothing but a ghost of the past, a shadow of a broken covenant.
The attached pdf gives a brief explanation about the Bill, its past and present context, and the protests about it. [Photo credit: Keelan Walker via Facebook]
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