Originally Posted by
mistaTea
One way or the other, I think successive governments need to do a better job informing NZers about what it all means.
It has been established in law for some time now that the original deal was a partnership, and the te reo version is what counts (Ferg, here is another 180 for ya! In the past I have been adamant that the English version should not be disregarded altogether. That was ignorant, and further investigation has allowed me to learn more about that point. See, I am wrong a lot more than I am right!).
However since 1840 there are numerous examples of how The Crown rode roughshot over Maori, disregarding their rights to the point of blatant land confiscations.
And so it is no coincidence that one of the partners continues to do poorly in pretty much all of the statistics.
So although the ACT Principles make a lot of sense from my "Pakeha" lens... I just have this sense of unease at the same time too. And growing empathy for how some Maori might feel (i.e. lack of trust for the new govt based on what they have read/heard given what has happened in the past).
And we probably are at the point that it is less about "debating" the principles as such - but more continuing the wider conversation to ratify what it all actually means in practice (including if there are any other rights that were inferred upon Maori when the deal was agreed to).
Ultimately, I just want to understand what exactly was agreed to and, where we have not honoured that, how can we rectify that in a way that is enduring.
If, for example, a co-governance model is a way forward (something I continue to grapple with) then there really needs to be clear communication and education on the matter. Just look what happened under Labour... at no point was it ever really explained properly. You couldn't really tell what it was and how/why it linked into TOW obligations. So a lot of people (myself included) did what we always do - just filled in the blanks with what we reckoned sounded 'about right'.
It is a terrible situation to have one partner impose their will on another partner as we have seen and it is no suprise that Maori continue to do so poorly (as a group, obviously there are also some very successful Maori). And it is a blight on the nation so long as that continues - I know that much for sure.
But what is the right/fair thing to do as an enduring solution? Thats what I want to know.
And if National supporting the ACT bit to a first reading enables the conversation so that I can be less nonplussed then I am optimistic.