Submissions on the Treaty Principle's bill

Here are the Treaty Principles Bill submissions I wrote for my family and my bands.

First up is the submission for my family. This one is personal, a specific expression of our feelings about Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the willfully horrible Bill that threatens it.

Submission on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill from the Neville-Danko family

In the Neville-Danko family are Ponzo Danko (age 14, pākehā), Lucy Danko (age 20, pākehā), Tim Danko (age 57, pākehā/first-generation Australian immigrant), Stefan Neville (age 50, pākehā/second-generation Scottish immigrant), and Indira Neville (age 51, pākehā/second-generation Scottish immigrant).

We oppose the Principles of The Treaty of Waitangi Bill. We support tino rangatiratanga, mana motuhake and the unique position of Māori as tangata whenu of Aotearoa.

The members of our family have not always been in this place, our history and whakapapa lie in other countries. But we live in Aotearoa, and it is Te Tiriti o Waitangi that allows us to call it home. 

The Treaty is Aotearoa’s first immigration policy. It affirmed (affirms) tino rangatiratanga for Māori and legitimised (legitimises) the presence of non-Māori, most significantly by enabling the Crown to govern. The document was (is) an explicit commitment to partnership, an agreement between tangata whenua and tauiwi to lead and care for this country together. 

As we know the Crown betrayed this alliance, working through various governments to oppress and destroy via law, violence, education, religion, government and all the other trappings of colonialism. It has been a long, exhausting, brutal and traumatic process for Māori (and others) to undo this. The job is far from over, but considerable progress has been made.

Now however - through the Treaty Principles Bill - the Government is once again dishonouring Te Tiriti, attempting to fundamentally change its meaning, and doing so unilaterally with disregard for the literal definition of ‘treaty’. In doing this the Bill undermines all that has been achieved and legitimises future acts of oppression and destruction against Māori. 

The coalition Government is justifying its actions via ‘equality’. It is a convincing word that appears to be positive. In the context of this Bill however the use is flawed and (at best) disingenuous. It:

• ignores the existing ‘equality’ given to everyone under Article three of the Treaty. We already have ‘the protections and rights of British subjects’ and all this brings with it, for example access to education, health and the right to vote.
• Conflates ‘equality’ with ‘equity’, refusing to acknowledge that for Māori (and others) access to the above is more theoretical than real. And that this manifests in significantly poorer outcomes for Māori.
• Does not recognise that these inequities are due to discrimination inherent in colonial systems. These advantage the Crown and pākehā, and disadvantage Māori (and others). There is no ‘level playing field’.
• Does not recognise that strategies and actions to deal with Māori inequity are not ‘privilege’ but rather ‘redress’ for broken promises. They are also about restoration of the tangata whenua – tauiwi partnership and shared approaches to caring for Aotearoa.

The Bill refuses to address the above and in doing so promotes division (and undermines any possibility of a serious, constructive, honest Te Tiriti discussion). It creates a ‘them’ and ‘us’, ‘them’ being Māori (and anyone ‘woke’ and opposing the Bill) and ‘us’ being ‘ordinary New Zealanders’ (a meaningless term with tactical use only). 

And horrifyingly, the Treaty Principles Bill is only the latest in a series of legal and policy developments aimed at promoting the ‘them’ and ‘us’ binary. These include the repeal of Three Waters, disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora, the removal of Treaty clauses in legislation, and the Regulatory Standards Bill currently making its way through Parliament. All are based on a misleading definition of ‘equality’ as discussed above. 

The Neville-Danko family are proudly ‘them’. We are honoured to be tangata tiriti and willing to work to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We write this submission as part of that mahi.

We recommend the Government:

• Reject the Principles of The Treaty of Waitangi Bill in its entirety.
• Explicitly recognise tino rangatiratanga, mana motuhake and the unique position of Māori as tangata whenua.
• Acknowledge and apologise for breaching the Treaty by allowing this Bill to progress.
• Commit to working in genuine partnership with Māori to redress the existence of the BIll, and other Treaty breaches.

80 000 people on the hikoi and apparently not one was an 'ordinary New Zealander'.

And here's the submission I wrote for dual use by my bands the Biscuits and Drop Zone.

It's only really appropriate for a particular kind of band, i.e. mine. That is, a band that's made up (mostly) of non-Māori members and not explicitly political in its music (at least not in regards to Māori issues). It's about how - in these types of bands - we can use the Treaty principles as a means to reflect on our values and processes, and how through these we can reflect and respect te Tiriti o Waitangi. It also contains a bunch of general reasons to oppose the Principles Bill.

Submission on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill by Indira Neville on behalf of the band, the Biscuits.

The Biscuits are a pop punk band based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. Its members are Brenda Dwane (Cook Island Māori), Brent Bidlake (pākeha) and Indira Neville (pākeha). The band’s been around for 30 years, played numerous shows, made numerous recordings and had some alternative radio chart success. 

The Biscuits oppose the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill.

We support tino rangatiratanga and the unique position of Maori as tangata whenua.

In Aotearoa there is a long history of protest music focused on Māori pride and resistance. Some examples are Ka Manu By Rob Ruha, One Brotherhood by Herbs, E Tū by Upper Hutt Posse, and Ōrākau by Half/Time. These important songs - and many others – reflect and reinforce Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The Biscuits do not make songs like this, our lyrics are not explicitly political. But te Tiriti o Waitangi is no less important to our band. It provides the context within which we make music, giving us the privilege to stand, perform, and send our feelings, ideas and sounds out into Aotearoa. In return we need to consider our actions, to figure out how in our performances and recordings we can honour the Treaty. 

Truthfully, the Biscuits have not been good at this. We need to do better. The Treaty principles – as they currently stand - offer us an accessible framework within which to do so. Concepts of partnership, participation and protection bring with them the following kinds of relevant questions:

• How can we as a band, fulfil our te Tiriti responsibilities? In this context what does it mean to support tino rangatiratanga? How can we use our energy, skill, craft, relationships, networks and resources?
• How does this differ from ‘supporting’ tino rangatiratanga as content and/or to advance our own careers?
• When considering applying for funding, are we the right band for the Project? Are we taking funding from others more deserving whose projects we could instead support? If we make money is there anyone we could share it with or initiative we could help fund?
•  What music communities do we belong to? Who are we accountable to? Who are we playing with, where are we playing, why are we playing?
• When we’re called to account, how will we respond? Will we own, apologise and learn from our actions, centring those harmed and trying to remedy things? Are we aware of behaviours that might get in the way, e.g. defensiveness and/or focusing on our own reputation.
• What kind of imprint does our music leave? Now and in the future?

These questions are important and useful. They are grounded in the Treaty principles and the Treaty principles compel us to answer them and to act upon our answers. The Biscuits need to do this.

The Biscuits also oppose the Treaty Principles Bill for the following general reasons:

A treaty – any treaty – cannot be changed unilaterally by any of its signatories. This is in relation to a treaty’s contents, established meaning, and/or social and legal enactment. 

The Bill ignores, undermines and insults the tino rangatiratanga of tangata whenua. While the Treaty does not ‘give’ this to Māori (they had and will always have it) the concept is codified in Article two. An attack on the Treaty is therefore an attack on Māori sovereignty and all the rights this confers.

The Bill was developed without the involvement of Māori. This is itself a breach of te Tiriti, and inadequate governance.

The Bill is just the latest and most explicit action in a series taken by the current government to roll back the hard-won rights of Māori. These have happened accross health, education, justice, and the environment, and are all ‘re-breaches’ of te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

The Bill seeks to remove the ‘privileges enjoyed by Māori’. These are not ‘privileges’ but redress for breaches of the Treaty by the Crown, breaches which ‘privileged’ pākehā.

The Bill purports to provide ‘equality’ for all New Zealanders. It operates on the concept of a ‘level playing field’ where everyone is socially in the same place, and ‘success’ is determined only by individual action. This model is inaccurate, ignores issues of equity and comes from a place of privilege.

The Bill is a form of systemic racism. It has been enabled by those the system privileges (colonialism and all its trappings) and seeks to entrench this privilege further.

The Bill removes Treaty-based legislative protections on public and iwi assets, allowing for private sale and profit.

The Bill is the result of a party who won only 8% of the vote in the last general election yet it attacks our constitutional foundations and seriously effects everyone. The leader of ACT has said it was not a ‘bottom line’ in coalition negotiations. And the Prime Minister himself has called the Bill ‘devisive’. It is difficult to fathom how and why he allowed this Bill to proceed, and raises questions about leadership and transparency.

We know the Bill will not pass its second reading. The submissions process is therefore a highly questionable use of taxpayer money and public service resource (particularly given how stretched the public service now is due to the government’s savings requirements).

In conclusion; at a personal level the Biscuits value the Treaty principles. They provide a motivating, necessary and accessible framework within which to consider how our band activities reflect and respect te Tiriti o Waitangi.

At a broader level we urge the Government to honour the Treaty, commit to reconciliation, acknowledge and respect tino rangatiratanga. We also expect National and NZ First to keep their promises to stop the Treaty Principles Bill at second reading.