Latest news with #TiritioWaitangi
Scoop
a day ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Green Party Condemns Decision To Suspend Te Pāti Māori Members
The Green Party condemns the unprecedented decision to suspend Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi for 21 days, and MP for Hauraki-Waikato Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke for 7 days. 'This decision is a disgrace and so is this Tiriti trampling Government," says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi promises protection for people and planet. We've seen hundreds of thousands of people show up in support of te Tiriti, and today Te Pāti Māori members have been severely punished for doing so. 'The severity of the punishment sought by the Privileges Committee was unprecedented and has raised serious concerns on whether this is a new standard that will only apply when haka, waiata, and other tikanga Māori are expressed in the House. 'There was a better way of dealing with this. We must find ways to incorporate the tikanga this country was founded on into our House of Parliament. Instead, Māori have been punished for using tikanga Māori to challenge the Treaty Principles Bill – one of the most divisive pieces of legislation we have seen. 'When those with assumed power think their privilege is under threat, there is a tendency to scream victim. One needn't feel intimidated by the power of upholding te mana i te Tiriti o Waitangi in the face of futile attempts to denigrate it. 'These consensus ignoring, Tiriti trampling, democracy mocking, narrowly supported recommendations from the Privileges Committee bring this House into more disrepute than any haka ever has,' says Marama Davidson.
The Spinoff
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Spinoff
Removing tikanga from legal education is a symptom of a wider disconnection
At its core, this isn't just a legal debate – it's a challenge to the legitimacy of Māori worldviews within public institutions, argues Kingi Snelgar. Just last week, the government took the unprecedented step of disallowing a regulation – recommended by the New Zealand Council of Legal Education – that would have embedded tikanga Māori as a core part of every law degree in Aotearoa. The regulation reflected the growing recognition of tikanga Māori as a source of law, as affirmed by the Supreme Court in cases like Ellis v R. Despite broad support from the legal profession, this disallowance marked only the second time in our history that our parliament has reversed such a regulation. This decision does more than impact law students. It raises a deeper question: whose knowledge systems are allowed to shape our laws, and whose are excluded? At its core, this isn't just a legal debate – it's a challenge to the legitimacy of Māori worldviews within public institutions. Tikanga, grounded in relationships, collective responsibility and spiritual connection to land, presents a profound contrast to a system rooted in individualism and legal positivism. This tension is not new – but in 2025, amid climate upheaval, mental distress and political polarisation, the stakes feel higher. We urgently need to ask: what kind of future are we building, and whose values will guide us? This moment, though centred on legal education, is a symptom of a wider disconnection – from community, from whenua, from purpose. Since the 1700s, Aotearoa has wrestled with new arrivals bringing new systems and values. These tensions – between land as commodity and land as ancestor, between individual rights and collective responsibility – aren't unique to us. Indigenous peoples worldwide continue to navigate them. We may pass laws or set climate targets, but without structural change – political, economic and legal – we will fall short. Transformation begins not with policy alone, but with a shift in worldview from human-centred to environment-centred, from extraction to interdependence. In recent decades, the global rise of individualism has prioritised rights – speech, property, movement – above collective responsibilities. These rights matter. But when elevated above our duties to each other and the environment, they sever the very connections that sustain life. Fortunately, Aotearoa is not without solutions. Indigenous-led models already exist. Matike Mai, the constitutional transformation report grounded in tikanga and te Tiriti o Waitangi, imagines governance based on relationships, not domination. We led the world in recognising Te Urewera and the Whanganui River as legal persons. These decisions reflect a worldview where land and water are not resources, but living ancestors. Despite being more digitally connected, we are more socially and ecologically disconnected than ever. It only takes a scroll through social media to find trolls, ridicule or dismissal of anything labelled 'woke'. These are symptoms not of oversensitivity but of spiritual and cultural alienation. We belong to a wider whānau – not just people, but awa, maunga, ngahere and all living beings. These aren't poetic flourishes; they are relationships with obligations. We've forgotten this. Reclaiming it is the work of our time. For me, the answer lies in indigenous values – not as relics of the past, but blueprints for the future. They offer practical and spiritual frameworks for addressing climate change, inequality, disconnection and ecological collapse. This isn't just a cultural challenge – it's a structural one. Our systems prioritise profit and growth over people, the environment and long-term wellbeing. Some may feel uncomfortable with the idea that nature could have rights – or mana. But this is not about diminishing human worth. It's an invitation to see ourselves with humility, as pōtiki – younger siblings within a vast, living whakapapa. Transformation is not easy. It requires confronting deeply held assumptions about what it means to be human. But as stories of Māui, Tāwhaki or Whina Cooper remind us, growth comes through descent – into darkness, into challenge – before emergence into light. I write not from ideology, but from aroha – for our tamariki, our whenua, our future. I see the way children engage with the world: with awe, care and instinctive whakapapa. This is not a Māori-only kaupapa. It's a call to all of us: to relate to land not transactionally, but as kin. For non-Māori, this may mean stepping back, listening and supporting indigenous leadership. It means reshaping the systems – legal, political, and economic – that frame our lives around care, interdependence and collective wellbeing. This work is also healing. Disconnection damages spirit and mind. Indigenous frameworks offer more than environmental solutions – they restore belonging and meaning. Change won't come overnight. But through small acts – reflection, gratitude, resistance, reconnection – we can begin. Aotearoa is uniquely placed to lead: founded on a treaty, rich in indigenous knowledge, and shaped by resilience. Let us move, together, from darkness into light.
Scoop
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Green Party Condemns Regulatory Standards Bill
Press Release – Green Party This Bill is the same tired politics we have seen time and time again from the Government, attacking Te Tiriti o Waitangi to make it easier for wealthy companies to exploit our whnau and our taiao for profit. The Green Party condemns the passing of the Regulatory Standards Bill at first reading and is clear that the fight is not over. 'The Regulatory Standards Bill is another attack on te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Prime Minister has again failed to show up for our founding document,' says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi promises protection for people and planet. We've seen hundreds of thousands of people show up in support of te Tiriti o Waitangi, so we know our communities will not stand for this. 'This Bill is the same tired politics we have seen time and time again from the Government, attacking Te Tiriti o Waitangi to make it easier for wealthy companies to exploit our whānau and our taiao for profit. 'For a Bill that claims to attempt to embed 'good law-making', the Bill has already breached te Tiriti o Waitangi in its policy development, and has completely ignored the significant opposition and feedback provided in over 22,000 submissions. 'Budget 2025 has failed Māori and shows the Coalition Government's sustained disregard for its Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. With the passage of the Regulatory Standards Bill, this Government has cemented its active role in the culture war, in spite of the document that allowed its very existence. 'Governments come and go. Politicians come and go. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is foundational and enduring. Honouring te Tiriti o Waitangi is the constitutional obligation of every Prime Minister – something Christopher Luxon must show leadership by scrapping the Regulatory Standards Bill. 'Whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua. Whatungarongaro te Kāwanatanga, toitū te Tiriti o Waitangi. People disappear, while the land remains. While Governments come and go, te Tiriti o Waitangi is forever,' says Marama Davidson.
Scoop
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Green Party Condemns Regulatory Standards Bill
Press Release – Green Party This Bill is the same tired politics we have seen time and time again from the Government, attacking Te Tiriti o Waitangi to make it easier for wealthy companies to exploit our whnau and our taiao for profit. The Green Party condemns the passing of the Regulatory Standards Bill at first reading and is clear that the fight is not over. 'The Regulatory Standards Bill is another attack on te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Prime Minister has again failed to show up for our founding document,' says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi promises protection for people and planet. We've seen hundreds of thousands of people show up in support of te Tiriti o Waitangi, so we know our communities will not stand for this. 'This Bill is the same tired politics we have seen time and time again from the Government, attacking Te Tiriti o Waitangi to make it easier for wealthy companies to exploit our whānau and our taiao for profit. 'For a Bill that claims to attempt to embed 'good law-making', the Bill has already breached te Tiriti o Waitangi in its policy development, and has completely ignored the significant opposition and feedback provided in over 22,000 submissions. 'Budget 2025 has failed Māori and shows the Coalition Government's sustained disregard for its Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. With the passage of the Regulatory Standards Bill, this Government has cemented its active role in the culture war, in spite of the document that allowed its very existence. 'Governments come and go. Politicians come and go. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is foundational and enduring. Honouring te Tiriti o Waitangi is the constitutional obligation of every Prime Minister – something Christopher Luxon must show leadership by scrapping the Regulatory Standards Bill. 'Whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua. Whatungarongaro te Kāwanatanga, toitū te Tiriti o Waitangi. People disappear, while the land remains. While Governments come and go, te Tiriti o Waitangi is forever,' says Marama Davidson.
Scoop
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Green Party Condemns Regulatory Standards Bill
The Green Party condemns the passing of the Regulatory Standards Bill at first reading and is clear that the fight is not over. 'The Regulatory Standards Bill is another attack on te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Prime Minister has again failed to show up for our founding document," says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi promises protection for people and planet. We've seen hundreds of thousands of people show up in support of te Tiriti o Waitangi, so we know our communities will not stand for this. 'This Bill is the same tired politics we have seen time and time again from the Government, attacking Te Tiriti o Waitangi to make it easier for wealthy companies to exploit our whānau and our taiao for profit. 'For a Bill that claims to attempt to embed 'good law-making', the Bill has already breached te Tiriti o Waitangi in its policy development, and has completely ignored the significant opposition and feedback provided in over 22,000 submissions. 'Budget 2025 has failed Māori and shows the Coalition Government's sustained disregard for its Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. With the passage of the Regulatory Standards Bill, this Government has cemented its active role in the culture war, in spite of the document that allowed its very existence. 'Governments come and go. Politicians come and go. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is foundational and enduring. Honouring te Tiriti o Waitangi is the constitutional obligation of every Prime Minister – something Christopher Luxon must show leadership by scrapping the Regulatory Standards Bill. 'Whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua. Whatungarongaro te Kāwanatanga, toitū te Tiriti o Waitangi. People disappear, while the land remains. While Governments come and go, te Tiriti o Waitangi is forever,' says Marama Davidson.
