Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and King Charles in Samoa, 25 October 2024. Photo: Supplied / X
More than 500 leaders from dozens of iwi and Māori groups have signed an open letter to King Charles III asking him to intervene over the government's policies relating to Māori.
It comes in the wake of one of the biggest protests in the history of Aotearoa, primarily sparked by the government's Treaty Principles Bill, which aims to legally define the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and passed its first reading in November.
There was also the extraordinary scene in Parliament during which a Te Pāti Māori MP ripped up a copy of the bill, inspiring a haka which made global headlines.
The letter, released Wednesday by the National Iwi Chairs Forum and Ngā Rangatira o Aotearoa/Te Waipounamu and signed by representatives from more than 80 whānau, hapū, Iwi and Māori organisations, called on Charles as "a descendant of Queen Victoria" - the reigning British monarch at the time Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed - to "remind [the government] to respect their responsibility to act as an honourable partner on your behalf".
"We seek your intervention to ensure that the government does not diminish the Crown's honour… We would welcome an opportunity to have regular contact with you or your office to build a closer relationship and realise the Tiriti 'promise of two peoples to take the best possible care of each other'.
"We are united in our grave concerns about what these actions will do to our whānau."
The letter called it a "constitutional matter", noting that while "successive governments have breached" the Treaty since its signing in 1840, Māori had "begun to build better relationships with the Crown and to develop some partnerships in developing legislation, policy and practices that affect our whānau based on the promise and agreements of Te Tiriti o Waitangi".
But the "new coalition government elected on 14 October 2023 has promised to attack Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the rights of our whānau", the letter said, citing:
- The redefining of Treaty principles
- "Careless mining" of the land and seabed
- The denial of "property rights regarding water, geothermal and minerals"
- "Greater powers to take our children" and abuse in state care
- Changes which make it "difficult for our people to enter critical professions, including medicine"
- Discouraging the use of te reo
- And the reduction of "rights to participate in local and central government"
The letter quoted Charles' comments in 2022 at the Commonwealth Heads of government meeting, in which he expressed "personal sorrow at the suffering of so many" resulting from "the most painful period of our history".
ACT Party leader David Seymour, architect of the Treaty Principles Bill, said the letter was incorrect in a number of ways.
"One thing its authors do get right is that the coalition government was elected by the people of New Zealand. What they don't seem to realise is that they have the same one five millionth of a say as every other Kiwi.
"This government is committed to improving education, safer streets, increasing access to medicine, and building the economy to benefit all New Zealanders, including Māori."
The coalition's biggest partner, National, only agreed to vote for the Treaty Principles Bill at its first reading as part of its agreement with the ACT Party.
Several of its former MPs have spoken out against the bill, including ex-Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson and former Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley.
RNZ has sought comment from the prime minister's office.
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