Willie Jackson decries coalition and Treaty Principles Bill at Labour Party annual conference

Labour's Willie Jackson has taken aim at the coalition government for what he called "taking Aotearoa down a path of division and hate."

He also took the opportunity to make a bid for "middle New Zealand" and distinguish Labour from fellow opposition parties Greens and Te Pāti Māori.

Jackson addressed members gathered for the Labour Party's annual conference in Christchurch, the focus of which leader Chris Hipkins said was to boost "ourselves back up again."

The Māori caucus co-leader called himself one of the more "diplomatic" MPs, before making an impassioned speech to the audience when discussing what he said was the most "contentious issue" in New Zealand today - namely the Treaty Principles Bill.

"Not since the terrible iwi/kiwi days, the Brash days, anti-Māori days, has New Zealand seen such an organised hate campaign, built upon lies and falsehoods to turn Māori and Pākehā against each other."

He reiterated his accusation in Parliament that ACT leader David Seymour is a liar, saying he pays Seymour a compliment because if he's "not a liar", then "he is a special type of stupid that I have never seen before."

Jackson said when Seymour is presented with the evidence, "he is either so stupid that he doesn't understand it, or more likely, he is deliberately ignoring and misrepresenting the 50 years of work we have collectively done."

He added that Seymour was instead progressing the "most divisive, hate fuelled anti-Māori, anti-Treaty, anti-worker agenda we have seen since 1851."

Jackson referenced the Waitangi Tribunal, the Ministry of Justice and 40 KC's who have all raised concerns with the Treaty Principles Bill.

"Why would all these reputable groups and individuals lie? I think we all know who's lying here don't we?

"For Seymour to be correct, everyone else must be wrong."

Seymour responds

When asked for a response, David Seymour said: "Willie can attack me all he likes. What he can't do is articulate why he is so opposed to New Zealanders getting a say on whether the Treaty means every New Zealander is equal before the law.

"The bill says that we all have ngā tikanga katoa rite tahi - the same rights and duties. All New Zealanders have tino rangatiratanga, the right to self-determine, not only Māori. On this version, every child growing up in New Zealand deserves the same respect and dignity, including equality before the law."

"The challenge for people who oppose this bill is to explain why they are so opposed to those basic principles."

Jackson also took aim at Christopher Luxon, saying he hadn't seen such "weak leadership" from a prime minister in his life.

"He has allowed himself to be outsmarted by David Seymour and has provided him a platform for six months so Seymour and his band of ACT party fanatics can go across the country on their hate tour all because Luxon couldn't negotiate his way out of a telephone booth."

He then asked why Luxon's coalition agreement was sacred, "but the Treaty is not."

"How come his desperate grasp at power overrules the binding constitutional framework of Aotearoa New Zealand?"

The prime minister was failing at the basics, and "being bullied into policies very few of us want", he said.

He claimed his own leader, Chris Hipkins, "wouldn't have allowed this."

The Bill was not just a "Māori issue", that it was a New Zealand issue, Jackson said.

"The Treaty should be our collective source of hope, not perpetual division."

He reminded the audience, despite the Labour leader taking a firm stance on the Treaty, and declaring Māori did not cede sovereignty, this did not mean the King was not the head of state, or Parliament wasn't sovereign.

Jackson spoke of his "working-class roots", saying "solidarity is best expressed in class."

"While identity remains incredibly important only a class strategy can deliver equity for all New Zealanders."

He appealed to the audience not to let the "right-wing frighten you" that Labour had been tainted or was "under the influence" by the Māori Party's "supposed radicalism."

He said the Māori Party can say whatever they like, but "working-class Labour values are to work together, not for just one's own interests, but for everyone's interests."

He claimed "middle New Zealand" had changed since 20 years ago, and that they were more "culturally aware."

"The next generation of Kiwis do not fear Māori culture."

He acknowledged middle New Zealand might support some policies by the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, but would never "agree with ideas for example about a Māori parliament, they would not agree with revolutions, they would not agree with an independent Māori state and the wholesale return of private land."

Jackson indicated he thought they "want Māori and Pākehā to work constructively and in harmony for the benefit of the nation."

Jackson called for these people to "be with us so we can be the next government."

Asked later what he was trying to achieve with the speech, Jackson said "we need to make our members feel comfortable about our position with regards to Māori."

He spoke about claims from the "right" that Labour had been "captured" by the Greens and Te Pāti Māori.

"We haven't been captured by anybody. The Treaty Principles is a kaupapa of principle and justice. It's incredibly important that we supported that, and we continue to support the opposition against that kaupapa."

Hipkins told media later that Jackson had summed it up well, saying he thought middle New Zealand didn't want to see the country go backwards when it comes to "relationships that we've got around the Treaty."

"I think middle New Zealand is actually proud of the progress we've made as a country, and see that this government really are creating the most divisive period in race relations that we've seen in a generation."

When approached for comment, a National spokesperson said: "Willie Jackson was part of a government directly responsible for declining outcomes for Māori.

"Under Labour, Māori health outcomes and educational achievement went backwards, Māori were disproportionately the victims of rising crime rates, and households were slammed by high inflation caused by their economic mismanagement.

"National's position is clear and unchanged - as agreed with ACT as part of our coalition agreement, we will support the Treaty Principles Bill to Select Committee but we will not support it becoming law."

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