Category: Te Pati Maori

Source: Te Pati Maori

An imminent decision to increase the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) for snapper would be a direct violation of the first-ever Treaty Settlement and inevitably breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi, says Te Pāti Māori.

Te Ohu Kaimoana has sought a High Court declaration to prevent the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries from increasing the TACC without Māori receiving a proportional increase, as guaranteed in the Treaty of Waitangi (Fisheries Claims) Settlement 1992.

“This coalition is reckless, undermining the principles of Te Tiriti, and now threatening, in the darkness of the moana at night, to place the Māori Fisheries Settlement into dispute,” said Tākuta Ferris, spokesperson for fisheries and MP for Te Tai Tonga.

“The High Court judge has warned the Fisheries Minister and Crown that a decision threatening a 20-29% loss of the Māori fisheries quota would be yet another breach of the 1992 settlement.

“Since the 1992 settlement, increases in TACC for any species should have been met with the same increases to Māori quota. This government has been continuous in its breach of this settlement and the Treaty,” said the MP for Te Tai Tonga.

“What’s more, is that any additional species added to the Quota Management System also had to have the relevant percentage of quota afforded to Māori.

“This government fails to acknowledge that Te Tiriti supersedes any legislation and must be upheld first. No law consented by virtue of Te Tiriti o Waitangi trumps it.

“A decision to increase the TACC without redress and proportional increases to Māori quota will reignite the debate on the management of New Zealand’s fisheries and Māori fisheries rights. They should expect to bear the consequences,” said Ferris.

 

Source: Te Pati Maori

The Waitangi Tribunal has released an Urgent Report on the Government’s proposed amendments to the Takutai Moana Act 2011.

The report calls out Paul Goldsmith’s proposal for what it is: a “gross breach of the Treaty” and an “illegitimate exercise of kāwanatanga”.

The Tribunal is recommending the Crown step down in its efforts to amend the Takutai Moana Act and make a genuine effort to engage with Māori before it causes irreparable damage.

“The largest confiscation of Māori land in history happened in 2004 with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This was the genesis of our Party,” said Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi.

“This Government is hellbent on taking us back 20 years and entrenching the theft of our moana and coastlines. They better be prepared for what comes next because te iwi Māori will not stand for a repeat of the Foreshore and Seabed Act,” Waititi said.

“The Tribunal has confirmed what we already knew to be true: this Government is intent on reducing Māori rights to almost nothing,” said co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

“Tangata whenua rights are the last barrier to this Government’s agenda to pillage, extract, and sell off Aotearoa to the highest bidder,” Ngarewa-Packer said.

“The Takutai Moana Act as it currently stands only gives Māori the ability to have very limited rights recognised. Customary Marine Title doesn’t come close to the ownership promised by Te Tiriti o Waitangi,” said Waititi.

“It makes me wonder what the motivation is behind this. Why has Cabinet given Paul Goldsmith free rein to act unlawfully, and in flagrant breach of the Treaty, to extinguish basic, limited rights?” Ngarewa-Packer said.

The Waitangi Tribunal concludes:

The Crown is “…doggedly continuing a path which is in clear Treaty breach and which repeats the approach of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004.”

“Te takutai moana is a significant taonga, and changes to its legislative regime require the Crown to demonstrate the highest standard of consultation, which it failed to meet at every step of the policy development process, despite the advice from officials.”

They recommend:

• The Crown halt its current efforts to amend the Takutai Moana Act;
• The Crown make a genuine attempt at meaningful engagement with Māori; and
• The focus of this engagement should be on the perceived issues of permissions for resource consents, rather than interrupting the process of awarding customary marine titles.

Source: Te Pati Maori

Aotearoa’s Youngest Member of Parliament, and Te Pāti Māori MP, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, will travel to Montreal to accept the One Young World Politician of the Year Award next week.

The One Young World Politician of the Year Award was created in 2018 to recognise the most promising young politicians between the ages of 18 and 35 from around the world.

The winners are selected by a panel of expert judges, including First Woman President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, based on their impact in their home countries and how they have used their position to benefit young people specifically.

The programme includes an acceptance ceremony and five days of engagements at the One Young World Summit in Montreal Canada. Hana-Rawhiti will then travel to New York and participate in the hybrid AFS Intercultural empowering youth to lead the world, run in parallel with the United Nations Summit of the Future.

“I am very humbled to be selected as one of four recipients of the One Young World, Politician of the Year Award for 2024 and want to acknowledge last year’s recipient, Far North Mayor, Moko Te Pania.

“For me, this is about holding space for future wahine Māori, and Māori rangatahi and hopefully inspiring them to use their Māori magic and aspire to achieve.

“Only 2% of politicians are under the age of 30. We risk losing a whole generation, particularly with this government who is consistently attacking our being, from engaging in politics,” said Maipi-Clarke.

Hana-Rawhiti will travel alongside a rangatahi roopu composed of future Māori leaders.

Source: Te Pati Maori

Mema Paremata for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, has reflected on the decisions made by the councils of the North amidst the government’s push to remove Māori Wards and weaken mana whenua representation.

“Actions taken by the Kaipara District Council to remove Māori Wards are the embodiment of the eradication of Māori. It is emboldened by this government’s overreach and interference in the work of democratically elected local councillors to achieve racial injustice,” said Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.

“The government has been cunning in its purposeful misuse of the term ‘democracy’ to manipulate local councils and their communities into eradicating Māori rights, voice, and opportunity.

“Democracy in this country is granted on the premise of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. That asserts this country’s constitution, based on rights before democracy.

“Local councils that have voted to remove Māori Wards will exile whānau Māori and leave them without community support or representation.”

“The legal proceedings taken by Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua against the Kaipara District Council prove that even in the face of legal action, few councils have been given the right of way to recklessly implore modern day silencing and colonisation.

“I send my support to those most impacted in Kaipara, where the cycle of us Māori being forced to champion our own rights for inclusion, voice, and status continues.”

Whangārei and Far North District Councils voted to maintain Māori Wards until at least 2028.

“I acknowledge the local councils who have responded with unwavering support for Māori Wards.

“Māori Wards are critical to local council efforts in reflecting the unique aspirations and needs of mana whenua.

“All local councils who have affirmed their dedication to mana whenua as Tiriti partners by voting to uphold Māori Wards,” said Kapa-Kingi.

Source: Te Pati Maori

Papā te whatitiri, hikohiko te uira, i kanapu ki te rangi, i whētuki i raro rā, rū ana te whenua e.

Uea te pou o tōku whare kia tū tangata he kapua whakairi nāku nā runga o Taupiri. Ko taku kiri ka tōkia ki te anu mātao. E te iwi whītiki, whītiki, whakarewa.

Kua whati a roto, kua pohara te iwi Māori i tō wehenga atu. E te Ariki, e te Kiingi Māori Tuheitia, moe mai rā i roto i ngā ringaringa o te atua.

Kaikini te aroha, kaikini te manawa, kaikini te wairua. Hei aha rā, hei aha rā, tū tonu te mahara.

“It is with deep sadness that we received news early this morning of the passing of Kiingi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII. His passing is deeply mourned,” said Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi.

“The Kiingitanga, in our people’s darkest moments, gave our people hope. It is a Māori movement that has never surrendered its mana,” said President John Tamihere.

“Kiingi Tūheitia was grassroots, humble, not fluent or flashy in formalities, yet naturally prepared to serve and lead,” said co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

“His legacy of unification, of mana motuhake and rangatiratanga, will live on through the movement and through te iwi Māori,” said co-leader Rawiri Waititi.

Te Pāti Māori will pay tribute to Kiingi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII alongside their respective iwi. No media requests will be taken until further notice.

Source: Te Pati Maori

Today’s Whakaata Māori announcement is yet another colossal failure from Minister Potaka, who has turned his back on te reo Māori, forcing a channel offline, putting whānau out of jobs, and cutting Māori content, says Te Pāti Māori.

“A Senior Māori Minister has turned his back on Te Reo Māori. Any move that reduces the prominence, visibility and auditability of Te Reo Māori is an attack on future generations. This is his failure, for our people and for our kids,” said Broadcast Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris.

“This restructure will have huge implications for whānau, Māori content, and the revitalisation of te reo Māori.

“For Potaka to sit by and allow a 25% reduction in operational budget is weak and gutless, and it has forced Whakaata Māori to its knees.

“Forcing the only channel fluent in Te Reo Māori off-air, is another breach of Article 2 of Te Tiriti, which protects our taonga, te reo Māori being one of them.

“The language of a people is the pupuri (the binding) of their being.

“This is the continuation of the insidious attack by the coalition government on all things Māori. It is the erasure of uniqueness of Māori identity, to assimilate, to conform to be another one of them.”

Despite a $10 million time-sensitive investment from the last Labour Government, which runs out next year, Whakaata Māori’s baseline operational funding has not increased since 2008.

“Past Governments are not off the hook either. Whakaata Māori has not had an increase in operational funding since 2008, during which costs have risen by 47% due to inflation.

“Despite that, their commitment to te ao Māori and te reo Māori has endured, and today’s announcement is a sad day,” said Ferris.

“Te Pāti Māori wants to acknowledge those at Whakaata Māori, past and present, who have contributed to our own storytelling, language revitalisation, and kōrero tuku iho,” said the MP for Te Tai Tonga.

Source: Te Pati Maori

Te Pāti Māori co-leader and Member of Parliament for Waiariki, which includes Rotorua, has written to Rotorua Lakes Councillors requesting they immediately stop sewerage piping works at Lake Rotokākahi in Rotorua.

“Mana whenua have been urging Rotorua Lakes Council to stop works and look at alternative plans to protect the taiao, as well as the wāhi tapu at Lake Rotokākahi. The council needs to listen,” said Rawiri Waititi.

“Lake Rotokākahi is a wāhi tapu (sacred site) for mana whenua and is the resting place of many of their tīpuna killed in the Mount Tarawera eruption of 1886.

“Mana whenua are not only concerned about the desecration of their wāhi tapu by the current sewage scheme, but also the future environmental damage that will put their roto and its surrounding ecosystems at risk.

“This act by the council is a clear breach of Article Two of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which guarantees Māori the undisturbed possession of their full and exclusive rights to their estates, domains, lands, forests, moana, and taonga for as long as they wish to retain them.

“The demands from mana whenua are clear: immediately stop works, adopt alternative routes, and for the Government to step in and support Rotorua Lakes Council with alternative plans.

“As the MP for Waiariki, I stand in solidarity with the protectors of Lake Rotokākahi and support their efforts to protect their whenua.

“I support mana whenua continuing to hold the frontline on their whenua, focused on protecting wāhi tapu, and preserving their taiao for their mokopuna until the council has met their demands.

“We, as tangata whenua, must be the kaitiaki our tīpuna entrusted us to be and make the decisions our mokopuna deserve to inherit.”

Waititi has written to all Rotorua Lakes Councillors, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Local Government, and the Minister of Infrastructure.

Source: Te Pati Maori

Information released by the Minister for Children has revealed that almost 800 mokopuna Māori have been taken by the state this year, putting it on track for the largest displacement of tamariki Māori since the introduction of Section 7AA in 2019.

“Oranga Tamariki is running a crusade against whakapapa Māori under the dictatorship of this Government,” said co-leader, Rawiri Waititi.

“The incarceration of 790 children into a system that has proven itself to be an abysmal failure is dangerous.

“The whakapapa protections in the current law is the final hurdle before the Govts kidnapping spree is unleashed.

“Section 7AA lifts the curtains so the nation can see exactly what the Crown is doing to our mokopuna. It gives tamariki an extra layer of protection from being unjustly taken from their whānau and put in harm’s way.

“The repeal of Section 7AA closes that curtain and keeps our tamariki in the dark,” Waititi said.

“The government is forcing our tamariki into a cesspool of poverty and devastating deprivation. It is the catalyst for the revolving door of incarceration and intergenerational trauma,” said co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

“Any entity that has failed as many reviews as Oranga Tamariki would be immediately shut down. The fact that this Ministry is responsible for our most vulnerable tamariki makes it even worse.

“They are incapable of caring for anything or anyone, let alone our mokopuna,” Ngarewa-Packer said.

Te Pāti Māori’s Mokopuna Māori Policy can be found here.

Source: Te Pati Maori

Today the Waitangi Tribunal issued a scathing report of the Government’s Treaty Principles Bill and Treaty Clause Review polices.

The report described the government’s policy to whitewash Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a distortion of the language of the Treaty based on a false historical narrative. The Tribunal found no justifications for these policies which are designed to take away indigenous rights, assert Parliamentary dominance over Māori, and erase any duty of the Crown to act with honour and integrity.

“We have the Prime Minister on record saying he is committed to upholding Article 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Tino Rangatiratanga of Te Iwi Māori. He needs to prove this by immediately abandoning the Treaty Principles Bill and implementing all the recommendations of the Tribunal” said Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi.

“The government have so far ignored all evidence and advice that contradicts their short-sighted anti-Māori, anti-poor, and anti-taiao policy platform.

“Te Pāti Māori will not allow this weaponised ignorance to continue unchecked” Waititi said.

“The Tribunal have issued a clear warning and challenge to this government. But it is also an opportunity for the Prime Minister to prove his worth as leader of a Pacific nation” said co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

“Luxon can no longer hide behind his coalition partners. Either he has given full control of his government to David Seymour, or he is using the coalition agreement as an excuse to pursue his own anti-Māori agenda.

“The Tribunal have given the Prime Minister an opportunity to restore some honour to the Crown, and to himself, by abandoning the Act Party’s anti-Treaty policies and beginning the process of healing his relationship with Māori” Ngarewa-Packer said.

“If Luxon ignores these recommendations he will go down in history as having led the most anti-Māori government in generations” said Waititi.

The Waitangi Tribunal recommends:

• That the Government abandon the Treaty Principles Bill.
• That the Government establish a Cabinet Māori-Crown relations committee that has oversight of the Crown’s Tiriti policies.
• The Government pause the Treaty Clause Review policy while it is re-conceptualised through collaboration and co-design engagement with Māori.
• That the Crown consider a process in partnership with Māori to undo the damage to the Māori-Crown relationship and restore confidence in and honour of the Crown.

Source: Te Pati Maori

Member of Parliament for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, and Te Pāti Māori have come out in full support for the action against the racially fuelled decision to get rid of the Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori ward in the Kaipara.

“What we have witnessed in Kaipara is a group of councillors so emboldened by this government’s agenda that their premeditated fragility has now flourished,” said Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.

“The Kaipara Council has feasted off the very rhetoric being paraded by this anti-Māori government and has taken the option to disestablish the Māori ward ahead of the required referendum.

“Our people and Māori Ward councillor Ihapera Paniora are sick and tired of playing nice and holding up our end of the Treaty partnership only to be simply walked over.

“Te iwi Māori continue to be pressed into a corner by the assault instigated by this disgusting government. We continue to activate, we continue to engage, we continue to explore our options.

“I cannot comprehend the perceived threat that Pākehā have when it comes to upholding their end of their Te Tiriti obligations. I acknowledge Palmerston North Council’s decision yesterday to maintain Māori wards.

“Being a good Treaty partner does not render one group superior. There is nothing to lose, but everything to gain.

“All Māori are asking for is for Pākehā to be nice,” said Kapa-Kingi.