Prime Minister Christopher Luxon Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will not unequivocally rule out supporting ACT's Treaty Principles Bill beyond the first reading, but says National's position on it has been very clear.
Last week, a draft memo was leaked from the Ministry of Justice about the government's proposed Treaty Principles bill.
Te Pāti Māori's co-leader Rawiri Waititi posted a screenshot of the leaked document on social media last week, saying it showed the government's "intentions to erase Te Tiriti o Waitangi".
ACT defended the bill, National repeated its position of supporting it no further than select committee, and the opposition parties said the prime minister should put a stop to it.
At Tuesday's post-Cabinet media briefing, Luxon once again said there was no commitment to support it beyond that stage, but would not say they were ruling it out.
At the same time, he said the government's position had been very clear.
"We've said that there is no intention or commitment to support beyond the first reading. I don't know how we can be any clearer than that."
Asked about whether Māori ceded sovereignty, Luxon said they would not relitigate that matter.
In National Party's view, the Treaty Principles Bill was divisive and unhelpful, he said.
Asked who would carry out the review agreed with New Zealand First to remove references to Treaty principles and replace them with more specific wording, Luxon said that was not part of the 100-day plan.
Luxon repeated campaign claims that the past six years had not been good for Māori. He said National believed in devolution and there was "lots of commonality of values".
He said he believed his job was to make sure that when he left his role New Zealand was more unified, and that strong differences of opinion did not mean less unity.
Watch: Tuesday's post-Cabinet media briefing:
PM faces questions over Māori policies at first post-Cabinet conference of year
As controversy continues to surround the issue, the year was kicked off with a nationwide hui where iwi gathered for a unified response to the coalition's policies impacting Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Luxon said his observation about the hui was that it was very constructive and positive - the same as what Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka had said after attending the hui.
"It was a very positive and constructive hui ... I think it was a very useful session.
"[The figure on the number of people at the hui] says that people care and they care about where Māori are going."
Kiingi Tuuheitia at Rātana on 23 January, 2024. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The prime minister was not in attendance at the hui, which he copped criticism from the opposition for, but he is due to speak at Rātana this week along with Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.
Luxon told reporters at the post-Cabinet conference that the discussion at the hui had not changed his kōrero planned for Rātana, because it would be informed by discussions he has had with Māori leaders over the past year and a half.
With David Seymour not attending Rātana, Luxon said what was important was that the parties were "tight on the important stuff" and all wanted to see improved outcomes for Māori.
"There will be differences ... at the core of what we've got in this government is massive alignment around the things that matter most to New Zealanders."
While Waitangi was the place for challenge and provocation, there was still a way forward with acknowledgement of differences, he said.
What's happened recently?
People gather for the start of the national hui at Tuurangawaewae Marae on 20 January, 2024. Photo: Shannon Haunui-Thompson
Earlier on Tuesday, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told RNZ the government was displaying "all the traits of typical white supremacists".
In a statement, Luxon said her characterisation was "ridiculous, baseless and we absolutely reject it".
Ngarewa-Packer made her comments on Tuesday - the first of three days of celebrations at Rātana with church leaders, iwi leaders and politicians converging on the small Rangitikei village.
Days after the Kiingitanga's historic nationwide hui, Māori leaders have marked it as a chance to continue the conversations started on Saturday.
More than 10,000 people gathered at Tuurangawaewae Marae on Saturday for a unified response to the coalition government's policies impacting Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, including opposing the ACT Party's moves to redefine the principles of the Treaty.
At the hui, Kiingi Tuuheitia said the world was watching and the government would be foolish to underestimate what te ao Māori was capable of.
"We need a way forward that brings kotahitanga to all of Aotearoa. The way forward needs to bring peace and unity for everybody."
Rātana representatives will meet with political leaders - including New Zealand First, Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori but not ACT - on Wednesday to discuss in particular Te Tiriti o Waitangi and te reo Māori.
