New Zealand lawmakers reject proposed law to redefine the Treaty of Waitangi

WELLINGTON: New Zealand lawmakers dealt an overwhelming defeat Thursday to a controversial proposed law seeking to redefine the country's founding treaty between Maori tribes and the British Crown. The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi bill was rejected by Parliament in a 112 to 11 vote in Wellington, halting its progress to a third and final vote. Cheers and applause erupted before lawmakers and the public sang a waiata - a traditional Maori song - after the result was announced.

The sweeping reinterpretation of the 1840 treaty signed by British representatives and 500 Maori chiefs during New Zealand's colonisation was never expected to become law. But the measures provoked a fraught debate about Indigenous rights and last November prompted the biggest race relations protest in the country's history. But its defeat did not spell the end for scrutiny of Maori rights in New Zealand law.

What is the Treaty of Waitangi?

The Treaty guides the relationship between the government and Maori, with its meaning established through decades of legislation and court rulings. It promised tribes broad rights to retain their lands and protect their interests in return for ceding governance to the British.

But two versions of the document were signed - one in English and one in Maori - and while both promised Maori the rights and privileges of British citizens, the documents differed on what authority the chiefs were ceding. Crown breaches of both created steep disenfranchisement for Maori, who still face stark inequities.

Since an Indigenous protest movement surged in the 1970s, Treaty considerations have been a growing part of New Zealand law. Redress efforts have bolstered a dwindling Maori language and culture - now experiencing a resurgence - and resulted in billion-dollar settlements for stolen Maori land.

What did the Treaty Principles Bill say?

The bill sought to end the 185-year conversation about the Treaty's meaning by enacting in law particular definitions for each clause and specifying that any rights should apply to all New Zealanders. Its author -- libertarian lawmaker David Seymour, who is Maori - has decried what he said were special rights and privileges on the basis of race.

In his speech to lawmakers Thursday, Seymour said New Zealanders should all have "the same rights and duties." He urged lawmakers outside his party to break ranks and endorse the bill. None did.

What did opponents say?

Parliamentary opposition leader Chris Hipkins lambasted the bill as "a stain on this country" and accused its supporters of spreading "the myth of Maori special privilege." He cited the disadvantage of Maori on almost every metric - including higher rates of poverty and ill-health and lower life expectancy.

The Treaty of Waitangi "is not about racial privilege or racial superiority," said opposition lawmaker Willie Jackson. "It is and always has been about legal rights Maori have in their contract with the Crown."

Parliament received 300,000 written submissions from members of the public - more than a proposed law had ever received before - 90% of them opposed to the measures.

"This bill has been absolutely annihilated," said Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, an opposition lawmaker from Te Pati Maori, the Maori political party.

Maipi-Clarke faces disciplinary proceedings at Parliament for her protest of the bill's first vote last November, when she tore up a copy of the measures while performing a haka - a Maori chant of challenge - as she and colleagues walked towards Seymour. The lawmakers refused to attend a hearing on their conduct this month, because they said Parliament does not respect tikanga - Maori cultural protocols.

Why did the measures get so far?

Despite its unpopularity, the proposed law passed its first vote due to a quirk of New Zealand's political system that allows tiny parties to negotiate outsized influence for their agendas. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon agreed his lawmakers would endorse the bill at its first reading to fulfil a political deal with Seymour that handed Luxon power. Without enough seats to govern after the 2023 election, Luxon negotiated support from two minor parties, including Seymour's, in return for political concessions. They included Luxon's early support for the Treaty Principles bill, although the New Zealand leader always said he would later oppose it. Luxon's opponents on Thursday derided his political dealings.

What happens next?

The Treaty Principles Bill was not the only measure Luxon agreed to that will scrutinise the Treaty's influence on New Zealand law and policy. Another of Seymour's initiatives, already enacted, directed public agencies to stop targeting policies to specifically redress Maori inequities. Luxon also agreed to consider and either replace or repeal mentions of the Treaty of Waitangi throughout most New Zealand laws.