02/01/2025
Happy new year - ngā mihi o te tau hou Pākeha, the start of the Gregorian calendar year. Pictured are some pickings from our Summer garden - I’m so grateful for the garden to harvest from, and nourish our little household.
It’s 2025 and I am full of energy for the year ahead. I started my new year by finally hitting ‘send’ on my submission on the treaty bill currently before parliament.
On January 7th submissions close on the "Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill" and if you haven't yet done so, I do urge you to add your voice in submission to this bill.
My submission was in strong opposition to this bill, which I consider to be reckless, harmful, and greatly at odds with the work done over the last 40 years and more, to understand and uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi as Aotearoa NZ's fundamental constitutional document.
Maybe your views are different to mine - or maybe you feel like you just don't know enough to weigh in. The best thing you can do to understand is to read, learn, intake information, and ask questions. If you want to understand the treaty and its history, I would highly recommend the resources provided by the amazing folks at Network Waitangi Otautahi which you can view here: www.nwo.org.nz on their website. Start with the handbook and work your way through to learn more about things here before the treaty, how this document came to be, and some of the ways its legal status has been clarified and brought into law.
The treaty isn't a threat or a promise of ‘special treatment’ - it is an agreement between the Crown and Māori that ensures a prosperous future for all of us 💚
Don't leave it too late, submissions can be made at: https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/54SCJUST_SCF_227E6D0B-E632-42EB-CFFE-08DCFEB826C6/principles-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi-bill
