After leading the giant hikoi opposing the Treaty Principles Bill, Eru Kapa-Kingi is hosting wānanga this week on the bill, explaining why Māori should oppose it, and how to send submissions on it to the select committee that will consider it.
He held a gathering at Ngā Puna o Waiorea yesterday and one of the topics of conversation was the bill being used to trample on Māori rights and profit from Māori assets.
Kapa-Kingi says he only plays a small part in a bigger game.
“He tini ngā whanaunga e whakarite hui pēnei nei, ki tērā wānanga haka, ki tērā hui whānau, ki tērā hui ā iwi he ātaahua. Ko tāku hoatu ki te kaupapa, he wāhanga nahe anō erangi, mā tēnā rourou, mā tēnā rourou ka eke te kaupapa ki tōna taumata.”
“There have been so many people who have organised gatherings such as this, at their haka practices, whānau gatherings, iwi gatherings - it’s beautiful. My role here is only small, however. With the works of many, we are able to complete our goal to the highest standard.”
The focus of the wānanga is formulating submissions to the select committee to oppose the Treaty Principles Bill.
Some discussions suggested the bill could be used as a weapon for profit as a tangata tiriti, which Kim Martin Engo explains: “I am concerned that it puts all people of Aotearoa into a position where things are at risk such as universal health care, universal education and the care and stewardship of the environment. If these same rights that are accorded to the tangata whenua and the whenua itself, then embedded itself into property owners, property owners can then turn around and argue that anything that raises tax, taxes or limits what they can do with their property they can argue is a breach of their sovereignty,” he says.
The Treaty Principles Bill has passed its first reading and, despite National promise that it won’t be supported further than that, Māori director and producer Chelsea Winstanley is worried what the future of the nation looks like if the bill does pass.
“This Treaty Principles Bill affects us all. Don’t be fooled e hoa mā, there are some really, as people are saying tonight, some creepy underlying reasons why this is going through and I think we just need to be quite vigilant as a country. We need to come together and kill the bill,” she says.
Hundreds of people have gathered in recent weeks iin workshops developing submissions opposing the bill.
But Kapa-Kingi has some advice for those who are yet to submit.
“Kia kaha, kia titiro whānui, kia titiro roa hoki. He kēmu roa tēnei. Nōreira, tākarohia ngā wāhanga ka taea i te rā nei, kia māmā kē atu ai te kēmu āpōpō.”
“Stay strong, look wide and look to the future. This is a long game. So, play out the areas you can today and make it easier for tomorrow.”
