Category: Maori Issues
2016 has been a year of significant political change. Establishment politics has been turned on its head. From the Brexit referendum in the UK, to the election of Donald Trump in the US, the shock waves kept coming.
Not content with creating the Treaty of Waitangi grievance industry and inserting ‘undefined’ Treaty principles into legislation – to enable activist Judges to invent new Treaty ‘rights’ - Sir Geoffrey Palmer now wants replace the sovereignty of the Queen with a new Constitution embedding the Treaty as superior law.
The new Iwi Participation Agreements will require democratically elected councils to seek the approval of unelected tribal representatives in all major decision-making. Even though many councils have more than a dozen iwi claiming an interest in their areas – each will be entitled to set up their own Agreements and be individually consulted.
We were told that we needed RMA approval (for a new shop window, for God’s sake), this instantly forthcoming at a cost of $4500 plus the approval of 13 iwi. The council refused to advise the addresses of these iwi outfits, yet added that without their consent, we can’t put back the window.
On Election Day the US electorate delivered a crushing blow to the political establishment. Against all odds, the Republican candidate Donald Trump was elected to serve as the 45th American President.
With the Treaty claims process coming to an end, the right to control public resources is becoming a central focus for tribal corporations as they enter the post-settlement era. Their priority is the control of fresh water.
Earlier this year cabinet considered a paper on the future allocation of fresh water. One aspect is the recognition of rights and interests in water on a race basis, which will be available only to those persons claiming some Maori blood.
It’s hard to recall a more concerted gang-up against a public figure than the one that followed the launch of former National Party leader Don Brash’s Hobson’s Pledge movement, which wants an end to race-based preference.
The Government is using the Treaty Bill to undermine the democratic rights of the people of the Taranaki Region. They are riding roughshod over local democracy by forcing the Regional Council to appoint six iwi representatives onto two of their key planning committees.
The Taranaki Iwi Claims Settlement Bill, that legislates for six race-based appointees on the Taranaki Regional Council, provided new ammunition for New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters this week.
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