Flavell Te Ururoa: Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill — First Reading 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:632;Page:4458] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
E te Kaikorero tena koe tena tatou katoa. Katahi te pire heahea rawa atu pai ke mau tena e whakamarama ake. Anei ke te timatanga mai o te pukapuka whakamarama o Te Puni Kokiri mo nga matapono o Te Tiriti o Waitangi: “He rangi ta matawhaiti he rangi ta matawhanui 
.”  
Me ki ki te whaiti te titiro he whaiti ano hoki te paerangi ka whaia haeretia e ia. Mena e whanui ana te titiro ka whanui ano hoki nga huarahi kei mua i a koe. Kua tae mai te Pati Maori ki tenei pire a-mema me te mohio ano hoki me titiro whanui ke tatou ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi hei kupu taketake o Aotearoa. Ko te mate o tenei pire he whaiti ke tona titiro ki te Tiriti ki tona itinga rawa he aronga whaiti he pae tata tona. 
Ko ta te Tiriti he waihanga i te ahua o te whenua nei he puna ora me ki kia whai mana ai te tu o te Kawanatanga. He kupu era e whakamarama nei i te aronga o te Karauna ki te tangata whenua; kia noho kohatu te tino rangatiratanga o te iwi kia noho pumau te whenua Maori i roto nga ringaringa o te Maori kia pumau te rangatiraranga o te tangata. Na Ta Robin Cooke te Perehetini o Te Kooti Pira te korero: “Koia te kupu whakaharahara rawa i roto i nga korero o nehe i Aotearoa nei e kore e taea te tuku i ona pou.” Engari i tenei pire ko tana mahi ko te tapahi i te pito ko te tuku i te motu kia rewa. Ko tana mahi ko te ukui i nga kupu o te Tiriti i nga ture katoa o Aotearoa. Ara mai i nga kupu taki i nga whakamarama i nga kupu apiti i nga whakaritenga me era atu o nga whakatau a-ture. 
Anei pea te patai nui e koa ma. He aha te mea kawa kino ranei o te whakaaro kia noho tonu mai anei matapono o te whakanui ranei i te Tiriti hei tuapapa mo Aotearoa? Koia nei ta te Pati Maori tu. Me waiho ko Te Tiriti o Waitangi hei tuapapa mo te motu kia whakatinana i te moemoea ara kia whai wahi ai nga taha e rua ara a Maori raua ko Pakeha i roto i te whakahaere o te motu. Me ki i tae a-tangata whenua atu o matou tupuna ki te Tiriti. E ai ki a ratou he mana taketake ano o ratou. E ai ki to ratou titiro he mana ake to te Tiriti he whanui tonu tona titiro kia noho ia hei korowai hei kupu oati mo nga tangata katoa e noho nei i Aotearoa. Kei tona hohonutanga ko te Tiriti he whakawhitinga o nga whakatau i waenganui i nga tangata whai rangatiratanga katahi ka puta etahi here ki runga i tena i tena. I tenei wa e ko te ahua nei kei te hiahia tetahi o nga hoa haere o te Tiriti kia puta. 
Ko te noho a-rangapu i raro i te Tiriti he mea tupunga ehara i te mea kohatu. I te Take a-Whenua i te tau 1987 ko ta te Kooti Pira whakamarama ko te tikanga “he mea whai oranga” te Tiriti he mea hanga hei tuapapa mo te nohonga ngatahi i waenga i te Maori me te Karauna. Ano nei “he kakano kaua ko tetahi mea kua tupu ke kia taea ai te tapiri atu i nga whakaaro”. Kia tupu taua kakano ki tona puawaitanga me whakairi te Tiriti hei mea ora hei mea akiaki kia here i te nohonga tahi o te tangata mo ake nei. 
Engari kia tau mai a raruraru ko te ahua nei ko te mahi o te hoa ko te oma atu i nga whakatau i whakaritea. Ko ta te Takuta Brash nei i mua o te poti matua kua hipa ko te whakairi i te haki ma ko te tuohu i te mahunga ano hoki ano nei ka hinga ratou. Hei tana ka ukuia katoatia nga korero porangi nga korero kaikiri a-iwi otira ko nga whakapuakanga a-matapono 39 i nga ture katoa. I te taenga atu ki te wa whiriwhiri ko wai te hunga ka noho hei hoa Kawanatanga ko ta Te Ropu Reipa ko te whiu atu i tona aronga ki te Tiriti a anei te utu ko te utu e korerohia ake nei ko te tautoko i tenei pire me tana haere ki te komiti whaiti. Ka mutu na runga i tona hiahia tuturu nei kia kitea mai ai i a ia i nga nupepa pouaka whakaata kua tukuna ko ta Winitana Pita pire ara te mea i hinga i te Pipiri o te tau kua hipa i raro i te ingoa o Doug Woolerton.  
E kore rawa te Pati Maori e noho whakamuri e noho wahangu ranei i te Whare Paremata nei. Ko ta matou ke ko te kokiri i nga take kua puta mai i te hapori i te iwi kia tae ra ano ki te wa ka noho te Tiriti hei mea wananga i waenganui i te Karauna me te Maori. Kia ora tatou. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Deputy Speaker and to all of us. What a stupid bill!  
Te Puni Kokiri’s recent guide to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi begins with the following words: “He rangi ta matawhaiti he rangi ta matawhanui.” The person with a narrow vision sees a narrow horizon; the person with a wide vision sees a wide horizon.  
The Maori Party comes to this member’s bill acutely aware of the need for an all-embracing approach to the Treaty of Waitangi to be viewed as the founding document of Aotearoa. The bill however restricts the view of the Treaty to its most minimalist state—a narrow vision for a narrow future. 
The Treaty gives shape to this nation—as a key source of the Government’s moral and political claim to legitimacy and as a document that articulates the commitment of the Crown to tangata whenua to have their tino rangatiratanga preserved Maori land ownership emphasised and chiefly authority protected. It is a document of which Sir Robin Cooke the then President of the Court of Appeal said:  
“It is simply the most important document in New Zealand’s history  
… 
 a nation cannot cast adrift from its own foundations.”  
Yet this bill today is prepared to cut those ties to cast the nation adrift by eliminating from all New Zealand statutes—all preambles interpretations schedule regulations and other provisos—any reference to principles. 
One has to ask what is so “offensive” about the concept of having principles or honouring the Treaty as the basis of our constitutional platform for Aotearoa.  
The Maori Party stands for Te Tiriti o Waitangi providing the base for constitutional change in our nation so that shared governance becomes a reality. Our tupuna entered into the Treaty as indigenous people with sovereign rights. They saw the Treaty as having both the capacity and the mana to act as a constitutional document for all people who live in this country. At its very heart the Treaty is an exchange of promises between sovereign peoples giving rise to obligations for each party—a promise that one part of the partnership is now trying to pull out of.  
As with any partnership the Treaty partnership is forever evolving. In the lands case in 1987 the Court of Appeal suggested that the Treaty should be interpreted as a “living instrument” laying the foundation for “an ongoing partnership” between Maori and the Crown which should be seen as “an embryo rather than a fully developed and integrated set of ideas”. Nurturing that embryo into full life requires the Treaty to be a living and dynamic document to secure an enduring partnership. 
But when the going gets tough it seems some parts of the partner are running from their responsibilities. Dr Brash flew the white flag of defeat well before the election stating they would remove what he called “racial nonsense” any references to the principles from 39 pieces of legislation. When it came time to stitch together a coalition Government Labour was prepared to throw away its so-called commitment to the Treaty by agreeing to support this bill going to select committee. And in a desperate attempt to get some media attention in this country Winston Peters’ bill which was last voted down in June 2005 resurfaces under the name of Doug Woolerton. 
The Maori Party will not renege on our responsibilities as part of Parliament and also to our constituency tangata whenua. We respect the fact that unless and until it is freely renegotiated between the Crown and Maori the Treaty stands; it continues in being. Thank you all. 
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