Aotearoa Needs Constitutional Transformation
On Waitangi Day, as many enjoyed a public holiday thanks to the official founding document of Aotearoa, Te Pāti Māori reminded the country that there is much more to be done in the upholding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Through an online petition, party co-leaders, Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, called for the removal of the British Royal Family as head of state, as well as for the creation of a Te Tiriti centric Aotearoa through constitutional transformation.
“The only way this nation can work is when Māori assert their rights to self-management, self-determination and self-governance over all our domains. Our vision is for constitutional transformation that restores the tino rangatiratanga of tangata whenua in this country,” explained Debbie Ngarewa-Packer in previous media statements.
Co-leader Rawiri Waititi has also commented that, “…we’ve got to get over ourselves and actually move Tangata Tiriti into their rightful place with Tangata Whenua, to start building a Tiriti centric Aotearoa.”
I spoke with Wellington City Councillor Tamatha Paul, who says, “the Royal Family has done very little for Aotearoa and have certainly done very little for Māori as well.”
“If we removed the Royal Family, we’d be able to explore our own constitutional arrangements and what Te Tiriti would look like if it was a foundation for everybody,” Tamatha explains.
She says that this could have really positive impacts for everybody, Māori, Pākehā and tauiwi.
What relevance does the Queen have in our lives as New Zealanders?
In a recent Newshub research poll, the question to was posed to readers, ‘when Queen Elizabeth is no longer Queen, should New Zealand break away from the Commonwealth and become a republic?” 48 per cent of New Zealanders responded that they wanted to keep the power of the Royal Family, while 36.4 per cent stated they thought it was time for Aotearoa to move on, and 15.6 per cent said that they didn’t know.
Implementing constitutional transformation would require a national referendum to determine the final authority. If we take this Newshub poll to be reflective of the general population, it would appear that the majority of New Zealand wants the Crown to keep their position as head of state indefinitely.
48 per cent is therefore a pretty disheartening figure, but this should not define the level of urgency this issue is given. As our right to call Aotearoa home is purely based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, all non-Māori should be actively working to bring constitutional transformation into mainstream discourse.
To gain some further insight, I sat down with some young people across Aotearoa to understand what the youth perspective on constitutional transformation actually is.
When asked what impact the Royal Family has on their daily lives, responses varied from ‘none at all’ to acknowledging that we receive a public holiday on the Queen’s birthday, that she appears on our money, or that they enjoyed the Prince Phillip memes when he died.
“The Crown means nothing to us. The Crown has only been ever been a negative frankly,” stated 22-year-old, Trinity Scott.
It was apparent that the common consensus from those I talked to appeared to be one of confusion regarding what the Queen’s role in Aotearoa actually is, and questioned New Zealand’s desire to hold onto outdated traditionalist beliefs.
As was spoken to by 22-year-old Ella Logan, “Continuing relationships with the Crown is just holding onto our history of colonisation rather than moving forward.”
“I think it’s time to create a constitution that is correct for our country and the cultures that are within it.”
Aotearoa, as outlined in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, is a bicultural nation, with the rights of tauiwi being based upon a partnership that respects the rights of tangata whenua to have self-determination, self-management and self-governance over their lands. If we are to honour the true biculturalism of this country, it is time to listen to the Te Pāti Māori and begin to have some serious conversations about constitutional transformation.
There needs to be a meaningful commitment to decolonisation within this country if we are to acknowledge our colonial past. Alongside that needs to come serious consideration of why we continue to provide space for symbols of colonisation within positions of power and prestige.
I am hopeful that as our rangatahi grow older and move into impactful careers, that our resistance to tackle constitutional transformation will shift and move into a more progressive phase of true Treaty partnership.
Those I spoke to seemed to genuinely believe in the possibility of a constitution that would enable us to see a future in which Te Tiriti o Waitangi is honoured in a meaningful and impactful way.
A transformative, transparent constitution
Matike Mai Aotearoa, the Independent Working Group on Constitutional Transformation, led by Moana Jackson and Margaret Mutu, held 252 hui for over 10,000 tangata whenua to discuss the importance of constitutional transformation. In 2016, they released their report which included a range of recommendations. These included a plan for iwi, hapū and lead Māori organisations to be initiating dialogue with the Crown and local authorities about the need for and possibilities of constitutional transformation in 2021.
In March 2022, it is obvious that progression has not succeeded at the rate proposed by Matike Mai. As we get further away from the original goals of the Matike Mai Report, it becomes ever more imperative that the government starts to listen.
Te Pāti Māori already have a mana motuhake policy which outlines actions to be taken to initiate constitutional transformation.
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has stated that the “Mana Motuhake Policy is a revolutionary plan
which includes establishing a Māori Parliament & implementing all Matike Mai recommendations for constitutional transformation. We would overhaul the Treaty settlement process [and] return land to whānau, hapū & iwi.”
The policy document firstly acknowledges the three clauses from Te Tiriti o Waitangi that reaffirmed Māori precolonial mana motuhake rights. As written on Te Pāti Māori policy document, these are:
The first article of the covenant awarded custodianship of Aotearoa to the Crown. It did not award ownership.
The second article put beyond all doubt the assertion of Rangatiratanga – the right of Māori to have total control and governance of all their domains.
The third article asserted that Māori would be treated equally with all non-Māori.
As these clauses have been breached from their initial signing, Te Pāti Māori have therefore presented twelve policy commitments that would transition Aotearoa into a truly bicultural nation. These include the establishment of a Māori Parliament and the implementation of all Matike Mai recommendations for constitutional transformation.
“[Article three of Te Tiriti] says that Māori and non-Māori will have the same outcomes and opportunities as each other and that’s really important,” says Tamatha Paul.
“I think tikanga Māori can underpin more equitable outcomes and that’s recognising that everyone has mana even if we disagree with them, even if they have done harm, they still have mana.”
Te Mahara Swanson Hall continues this, stating, “Ultimately Te Tiriti reaffirms our mana motuhake, the second article, the assertion of tino rangatiratanga reaffirms the rights of hapū to have total control and governance of all their own domains.”
Te Mahara says she was in primary school when the government signed away rights for deep sea oil drilling on the East Coast in her iwi, Te Whānau a Apanui. She explains that Te Whānau a Apanui is an iwi which relies heavily on the moana and whenua as a source of kai. It wasn’t until 2018 that deep sea oil drilling was offically banned, after eight years of her iwi protesting againt major oil companies.
This is a direct example that shows the complete disregard and disrespect that is shown to the tino rangatiratanga of Māori under our current constitutional arrangements.
“I have no doubt that our tīpuna have been envisaging the need for constitutional transformation ever since the Crown first failed to uphold Te Tiriti back in 1840,” says Te Mahara Swanson Hall.
Constitutional transformation, as Margret Mutu says, is required to reinstate the balance between mana motuhake and British kāwanatanga. This offers a very necessary situation in which the balance that has been disrupted by ongoing processes of colonisation has the opportunity to be renewed though a reinstatement of tino rangatiratanga that was guaranteed in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Despite this, the Prime Minister herself has commented that constitutional transformation is not of urgency during her time in Parliament and therefore will not act on this issue.
“To the government this may not seem like a matter of urgency, but when your country’s urgent matters are flow on effects of a Tiriti that hasn’t been upheld, the majority affected being Māori, it is important to listen to the thousands of tangata whenua that have called for transformation,” says Te Mahara Swanson Hall.
Tamatha Paul says the Prime Minister’s response is not surprising.
“It’s only non-Māori that see it as non-urgent because constitutional transformation would ask more of our government and its leaders than they’re currently giving,” she explains.
“They’re not even giving a fraction of what constitutional transformation would require, which would require them to actually give some land back and pay their dues and acknowledge their not so clean and pretty past of colonisation.”
It is easy for our PM to disregard the possibility of transformation to our constitution, as the current arrangement suits Pākehā New Zealand quite well. These arrangements are blatantly tilted and are creating unequitable outcomes that need to be addressed. The Government needs to put in the work to honour their obligations as Treaty partners and effectively put Te Tiriti into action. There can be no more excuses.
“For Māori, every day that passes by without it is another stolen acre of whenua; another Māori baby uplifted from their mother; another Māori woman incarcerated; another Māori man made homeless. The matter is urgent and it’s up to us all to give this conversation the mana it deserves,” says Tamatha Paul.
Remember this as you move forward with your day. Initiate those meaningful conversations, expand your Te Tiriti knowledge, fight for change in any way you can. For non-Māori, it is our duty, as guests on this whenua, to respect the foundational document that determines our right to call Aotearoa home. We need to work towards a future that envisages constitutional transformation at the forefront of mainstream politics.