Waititi RawiriRAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori): Well we've heard about equal suffrage—one man one vote—and the opposition to co-governance. The equal suffrage it is clear; it's Western democracy. Co-governance is unclear. What is it? Is it determined by the Government or does it include Māori? Where is the co" in all of this? All of this uncertainty is driven by a fear of being undemocratic—Pākehā having less say Māori having more say—whilst missing the opportunity to realign our nation's obligation and promise to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The absolute fierce protection of this country's version of democracy shows how little we have come and how far we need to go to create a more equal and equitable nation—a Tiriti-centric Aotearoa.A globally recognised political leader once said "Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government"—Winston Churchill 11 November 1947. Westernised democracy is a model used to oppress minorities including indigenous peoples all over the world. It is the tyranny of the majority. The majority should never determine the rights and privileges of others because the proportionate majority is pursuing their needs while neglecting the needs of others. If in fact Western democracy was in place in 1840 Māori would have had all the say as the Māori population was estimated to have been between 90000 to 100000 as opposed to European settlers estimated at around 2000. The Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill has received a huge amount of criticism by a sector of society—many supporters of Hobson's Pledge and groups alike that don't want a Tiriti-centric nation. They have used equal suffrage as their war cry and have an obsession with numbers rather than equal rights as promised under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I turned up to my office yesterday to this book written by John Robinson. I'm quite happy to take leave from the House to table this book because I don't want it anymore—spreading misinformation disinformation and racist rhetoric that is actively designed to create huge division in our country. To make matters worse we have parties in this House who choose to adopt this line of archaic colonial thinking and it's an absolute shame. Let's talk about Te Tiriti. Why do we refer to Te Tiriti and not the Treaty? Because Te Tiriti the Māori version was debated and signed by the chiefs and the Crown in 1840. Article 1 talks about the recognition of pre-existing rights and authority. It doesn't create any new authority for Māori as it already existed. What was agreed to was kāwanatanga the right of governance and we have honoured this since 1853 on the provision that the Crown recognised the pre-existing rights of Māori. Article 2: Māori were guaranteed the undisturbed possession of their properties including land forest and fisheries for as long as they wished to retain them. This is self-governance. This is not mono or absolute governance by the Crown over Māori but is the guarantee to self-determination and self-governance for Māori. The key to the article are the words "for as long as they wish and desire to retain them". I pose this question to this House: where is it written in the statement where my people or where the Māori no longer have desire to retain the possession of their properties including their lands forest and fisheries and other properties?Article 3: the Crown promised to Māori the benefit of Royal protection and full citizenship. This emphasises equality. This I believe answers my question of what co-governance is. In the Crown law there's no way anyone will get away with breaching a contract and claiming that they were acting in the spirit or in the principles of a contract. What does that even mean? Like I said the words work fine for us. It's that we need to honour the Treaty as she lays.Constitutional transformation is inevitable. We are in a generation where tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti are on the rise. They will create a new system for Aotearoa that is equitable equal just and fair where we can make decisions together for the betterment of this nation and of our mokopuna to come. Kia ora tātou."