Tiriti o (Treaty of) Waitangi Policy

Read the Tiriti o Waitangi Policy Summary.

Introduction

This policy sets out our broad Tiriti o Waitangi position. Many of our policies including health, education, human rights, justice and conservation contain specific points detailing our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Preamble

Green Party Charter
The preamble to the Charter of the Green Party reads:

The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand accepts Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand recognises Mäori as the Tangata Whenua of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Green Party Constitution
The objects of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand include a commitment to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Key Principles

1. The Green Party affirms that Te Tiriti o Waitangi remains a living and fundamental constitutional document.
2. The Green Party, through its Charter and its constitution, acknowledges the indigenous language version of Te Tiriti as the legitimate text of an agreement that described the rights and responsibilities of hapu and the Crown, and which:
   
   1. gave the Crown the right to kawanatanga,
   2. confirmed the chiefs' tino rangatiratanga,
   3. gave Mäori the individual rights of British people, and
   4. confirmed their religious, spiritual and customary rights.
3. The Green Party acknowledges that the Crown and its representatives have breached, and continue to breach, te Tiriti . We support the resolution of, and restitution for, all outstanding historical and contemporary breaches.
4. The Green Party believes there is a need for an ongoing dialogue grounded in Te Tiriti, both to give effect to the relationship that it enshrines, and to build a high level of awareness among all citizens of the unique role of Te Tiriti in our nation.

Specific Policy Points

1. Dialogue

The Green Party will promote and support an ongoing forum for dialogue on current Tiriti issues.

For example, any constitutional change or change to the Treaty settlement process would need to be preceded by a full dialogue between the Tiriti parties to agree on how the Tiriti relationship would be given effect in any new arrangement.

2. Information

The Green Party will continue to promote and support a public information and awareness programme on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

This will include:

1. the context, intent, wording, adherence to and violations of, Te Tiriti o Waitangi;
2. shared understanding of Pakeha culture and values, focusing on its past and present relationship to Mäori culture and values.These are the first steps towards healing the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual effects of colonisation on our society.
3. provision of information for new immigrants.

3. The Treaty settlement framework

The Waitangi Tribunal

The Green Party will promote and support:

1. Increased resources for the Waitangi Tribunal, including adequate resources for claimants to prepare and present their cases, and increased transparency and accountability.

Settlements

The Green Party is concerned that an unfounded criticism of the Waitangi Tribunal has developed among some New Zealanders. We believe that any undermining of confidence in the fairness and reasonableness of the Tribunal process is harmful to New Zealand society and must be addressed with adequate resources and a public education campaign on the importance of the Tribunals work.

We will promote and support:

2. The development of a diversity of models for restitution and nationally sustainable compensation over time.
3. Mäori claimants being allowed ample opportunity to consider any legislation for setting a timeframe for lodging and settling claims, and the government ought not to proceed with legislation in the absence of widespread Mäori support for the legislation.
   
   1. If a timeframe is set it must be mutually agreed between Crown and Mäori, and be accompanied by a clear commitment of resources (including people, money, and information) and a schedule that reveals how all claims will be dealt with within the specified time; and if it becomes apparent through monitoring of progress that the deadline is not going to be met, the timeline must be extended.
   2. All claimants having the opportunity to have their land and resources returned to them. Otherwise, a timeframe is nothing more than a raupatu.
   3. That only historical claims (i.e. pre- September 1992) are included in any timeframe legislation.
   4. That funding, resources and expertise are made available for claimants to properly prepare their claims.

4. Supporting Mäori initiatives

The Green Party will promote and support Mäori initiatives that recognise the rights of Mäori in Te Tiriti, and that will improve the wellbeing of Mäori.

The Green Party will:

1. Support the development of working models of Mäori justice processes (see Justice Policy).
2. Ensure that Mäori, as tangata whenua, have a partnership role in determining Aotearoa/New Zealand’s immigration policy (see Human Rights Policy).
3. Further build the capacity of Mäori to manage their own health needs and provide Mäori specific services.
4. Support rongoa Mäori (traditional Mäori healing) practitioners and practices (see Health Policy)
5. Work with Mäori based organisations and representative groups to develop a programme of enhancing rangatiratanga in Mäori education at all levels, and provide adequate resources to support this (see Education Policy).

5. Representation

The Green Party will promote and support:

1. Guaranteed Tangata Whenua participation in local governance.
   
   
   
   As more power is devolved to the local level, so the importance of honouring the Tiriti relationship at the local level increases. A range of models have been developed around the country and the Green Party supports this diversity.
2. Shared guardianship of our natural heritage:
   
   1. The Green Party supports an ongoing dialogue on how shared guardianship can be developed to protect and enhance our natural heritage. The role of hapu as kaitiaki of their rohe must be recognised and strengthened.
   2. The Conservation estate is a treasure for all New Zealanders. There is considerable scope for Mäori and Pakeha to cooperate in restoring and rebuilding this treasure as part of honouring te Tiriti. Some good models for this already exist.

Mäori seats in Parliament

The Green Party supports guaranteed representation for Mäori in the House of Representatives. While this form of monolithic representation is not a true reflection of Te Tiriti until Aotearoa/New Zealand moves towards such a relationship, the Green Party believes it essential that Mäori have representation in Parliament.

3. The Green Party will support the entrenchment of the Mäori seats so that there is guaranteed Mäori representation in Parliament.

Mäori electoral option

The Mäori electoral option is a chance for Mäori to choose between being on the Mäori electoral roll or the General electoral roll for when they vote in the next scheduled general election. The option is currently only available every five years with no obvious relevance to the timing of the general election.

The Green Party will:

4. Enable Mäori voters to change from the General to the Mäori roll, or vice versa, at any time.
5. Ensure that there is a public information campaign to highlight the opportunity for Mäori voters to enrol on the Mäori roll prior to the general election