Leader of New Zealand’s Libertarian Party Urged to Skip Significant Maori Event Due to Controversial ‘Race Bill’
David Seymour, who is part-Māori, has been advised against attending the celebration of New Zealand’s national day.
The leader of the party responsible for introducing the controversial Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill—which aims to eliminate any distinctions in how Māori and non-Māori New Zealanders are treated under the law—has been requested not to participate in Waitangi Day festivities this year.
Every year, on February 6, a public holiday commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the Crown and numerous tribal chiefs in 1840.
What was once a symbolic occasion has turned into a day of discussions on the treatment of Māori.
Several prime ministers, including Clark and Key, eventually opted out of attending, and current PM Christopher Luxon has also stated he will not be present at this year’s event. Nonetheless, ACT Party Leader David Seymour has announced his intention to attend despite encountering substantial resistance to his Treaty Principles Bill.
The purpose of the Bill is to clarify the interpretation of New Zealand’s founding Treaty of Waitangi
The Bill has garnered an unprecedented 300,000 written submissions, causing technical glitches on Parliament’s website when the deadline closed recently.
Seymour, who has Māori heritage, has received a communication from his own tribe, Ngāti Rēhia, advising him not to attend this year’s event.
On the other hand, the leaders of the two other governing coalition parties, Winston Peters of New Zealand First and Luxon, have participated in another crucial meeting between the government and Māori at Rātana.
Both have reassured attendees that Seymour’s Bill will not be enacted into law. Peters referred to it as “dead in the water” and stated that it “won’t make it past the first reading,” while Luxon affirmed that “National won’t back the bill—it will be rejected, and it will not become law.”
