Treaty Principles Bill is the legislative equivalent of ACT’s new school lunches
We are proud to share the oral submission our director Gareth Hughes gave against the Treaty Principles Bill. You can read our full written submission here.
An edited version of our presentation can be read below.
Kia ora translates literally to "be well" and that’s what we want for our economy. The Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa is a Te Tiriti led, non-partisan ‘think and do’ tank empowering people to redesign our economy around the wellbeing of our people and te taiao.
We are part of a global collaboration with leading new economy leaders. Here in Aotearoa, our vision is to move beyond GDP and create an intergenerational and regenerative economy. This is nothing new, these values are intrinsic to te Ao Māori.
The Treaty Principles Bill is not only a waste of money, time and goodwill built up over decades, it is also an attack on the dream of a Te Tiriti-led economy that stands as an alternative to our current unjust, unsustainable, profit and greed-driven economy.
The Treaty Principles Bill is the legislative equivalent of ACT’s new school lunches. They are trying to take something that was full of flavour, full of diversity, full of colour, something healthy, successful and benefiting local economies to something bland, colourless and only benefitting profit-seeking multinationals. They’ve tried to break what was working and like the school lunches, the Treaty Principles Bill is leaving a sour taste in our collective mouths.
I agree wholeheartedly with the Waitangi Tribunal that this bill is the “most comprehensive breach of the Treaty in recent time”. In the course of only one year, decades of weaving together a Treaty relationship has started to unwind and fray.
This bill is an attempt to unilaterally and ideologically rewrite Te Tiriti o Waitangi, leaving out many important principles such as tino rangatiratanga, kāwanatanga, partnership, and active protection. For Aotearoa these principles are crucial for a healthy economy in service to the people and te taio.
Te Tiriti is a korowai that protects our country. If we want a healthier economy and improved quality of life, Te Tiriti has a foundational role to play. The Treaty principles, as expressed through the Courts and the Waitangi Tribunal, has been a powerful guardian keeping lands and assets in public ownership. For example, the 1987 Lands Case kept public land from being privatised, and a Tribunal claim on the radio spectrum ensured Māori have a fair share of the FM frequency and therefore a secure place for Māori language and culture in broadcasting in New Zealand.
Te Tiriti has also been a protector of our lands and waters with Māori having a leading role stopping seabed mining and offshore oil exploration. In 2021 the Supreme Court rejected Trans-Tasman Resources’ application to mine the seabed as the Court found that tikanga-based customary rights and interests constituted “existing interests” under a section in the Exclusive Economic Zone Act.
Te Tiriti has been a guardian for our lands, moana and our assets. It can also be the foundation of a new economy.
The current economic design in New Zealand, and which is dominant across the world, is an important cause of the multiple crises we face. Forty years ago, New Zealand followed the United States’ example and put in place a Neoliberal economic system. Since then the two countries have headed in similar directions - more inequality, poverty, homelessness and social division. Today, two-thirds of New Zealanders believe the economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful. Instead of the economy being in service to people; right now people and nature are in service to the economy.
But our economy is a product of design and can be redesigned. A wellbeing economy builds on Indigenous worldviews and economic practices that are rooted in a profound understanding of the reciprocal relationship between humans and nature, long-term thinking and community-focused concepts of wealth.
There is so much leadership, energy, innovation and new thinking in economics in Aotearoa coming from Te Ao Māori. You can see it in the Toa Economy from Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, where prosperity is supported by a culture of self-determination, resilience, and growth.
You can see it in entrepreneurship with Manahau, the Māori theory of value conceptualised by Dr Jason Mika which combines mana (power, authority, and dignity) and hau (vitality of people, places, and objects) to achieve multidimensional wellbeing, human potential, and relational balance.
You can see it in the Aroha Economy, a new economic paradigm developed by Cain Kerehoma that integrates indigenous knowledge with modern economic practices designed to be generous, regenerative, and generational, fostering a sustainable future.
We all know New Zealand struggles with long-term thinking, but again we can see leadership in areas like the Te Tau-ihu Intergenerational Strategy, a long-term economic development strategy for the Top of the South of New Zealand led by Wakatū Incorporation, who themselves have a 500 year plan.
You can see it in reimagining business, such as Hikurangi Enterprises, a charitable company driving economic development and employment in the Waiapu valley of Te Tairawhiti. You can see it in Rua Bioscience Ltd which in 2020 was the first company founded by a Māori community to list on the New Zealand Stock Exchange. You can see it in IndigiShare which empowers the indigenous economy through the power of koha and Nau Ma Rā - the first kaupapa Māori power company in Aotearoa, helping their customers. You can see it in Amotai’s registry of 1600 Māori owned businesses. Together, this is reshaping our economy for the better.
The Treaty Principle Bill isn’t the only unappetising dish served up by the Crown.
It’s cynically serving a purpose attracting attention away from other laws and policies stoking division and holding back a Te Tiriti-led economy and future.
I would urge National and NZ First politicians to not only stick to their word and vote against this Treaty Principles Bill, but to extend that logic and stop the planned removal of the Treaty in existing laws, reject the proposed Māori Wards legislation, Regulatory Standards Bills and the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Amendment Bill which is a modern form of confiscation of customary property rights.
From this point there needs to be a project of redress, a commitment that lessons will be learned and other attacks on Te Tiriti and Māori self-determination will cease. The Crown needs to put considerable effort back into restoring the relationship and partnership.
Disgusting, unhealthy lunches for our mokopuna are a choice. Anti-Te-Tiriti laws and policies are a choice.
I believe our future is one built on Te Tiriti and honoring the partnership and promises made in 1840. This is how we can build a richer Aotearoa - economically and culturally - a wellbeing economy. Kia ora.
