Two items in my letterbox caught my attention, on quite opposing sides of the legitimacy of the Treaty of Waitangi.
The first was an invitation:
You’re invited!
To hear Julian Batchelor, the author of this booklet, give an eye opening and inspiring public lecture on co-governance – what it is, why it’s wrong and why it must be stopped.
The Venue
3 Mountain View Drive
Wanaka
Thursday 29th June 7pm”It was what was below the waterline which sank the Titanic.
It is what is below the waterline of co-governance which will sink New Zealand.Co-Governance
• Is based on a fraudulent interpretation of the Treaty
• Destroys democracy
• Creates racial disharmony
• Promotes racism
• Creates apartheid
• Promotes separatism
• Destroys the principle of one person, one vote, the cornerstone of democracy
• Destroys the important principle of one law for all”
I’m not going to link to it. But there’s one household on my street with a big Stop 3 Waters banner on their front yard.
The second was also today, a Mountain Scene insert of a full reproduction of the 1922 commentary by Sir Apirana Ngata, “Te Treaty o Waitangi, an explanation”
The Hon. Sir Apirana Ngata introduced his explanation of it 80 years ago, in Te Reo, to a Maori woman who was concerned about the level of debate in marae at the time:
What is a Treaty? In accordance with the Maori language, it is an agreement between two or more peoples having authority and agreeing between themselves to certain wide powers affecting them all. The document on which these powers and agreements are recorded is called a treaty. Let the actual Maori version of the Treaty now show.”
He concludes:
This is the third article of the Treaty:
Article The Third
In consideration thereof, Her Majesty the Queen of England extends to the Natives of New Zealand Her Royal Protection, and imparts to them all the rights and privileges of British subjects.This article explains what Her Majesty the Queen gives in return for what the Maori Chiefs have ceded to Her Majesty’s Government. Here is the explanation:
(1) The Queen of England extends to the Maori people of New Zealand Her Royal Protection.
(2) She imparts to them all the rights and privileges of British subjects.These are very important and formidable words. The first parts is that all the Maori people would receive protection. Looking beyond the shores of New Zealand we finds that it was through the Queen and her descendants, through their prestige and might that we have been protected from invasion by foreign powers, namely the French in its time when it attempted to take the South Island and had actually settled in Akaroa; and after that came the Russians and its attempts to conquer us were staved off; and only yesterday we faced up to the Germans and only after a bitter struggle …”
Onya Sir Apirana.
Possibly the most heartening response to the anti co-governance tirades through 2022 and this year, has been the utter generosity of marae and their teams up and down our North Island to the impact of Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary storms. Co-governance in practise in 2023 has been iwi and NZDF and councils and churches and community groups and Police and housing providers and emergency services … all simply serving thousands of our people. Not Maori. Not Pakeha. Our people.
Now, I took one for the team reporting on the Luxon event, but perhaps some of my Wanaka stalwarts would like to report back on this one?
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