A lawyer and educator specialising in Te Tiriti o Waitangi says the public has sent a clear message to the government, with an overwhelming number of submissions against the Treaty Principles Bill.
Parliament’s Justice Committee released a report on Friday showing out of roughly 300,000 written submissions on the bill, 90% opposed it.
ACT leader David Seymour, who brought the bill to the House, says he will continue to push the bill.
Lawyer Roimata Smail (Ngāti Maniapoto, Tainui, England, Scotland, Ireland) says she is not surprised by the result after Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti last year.
“I’m in awe of the kotahitanga (unity) displayed,” Smail said.
“The people of Aotearoa have spoken that Te Tiriti is part of our country.
“That’s shown by people going on the hīkoi and making so many submissions.”
Smail said 15,000 people used a submission template she created for those wanting to oppose the bill.
“I felt hopeful because I knew 15,000 people had gone to my website. That seemed like a huge number.
“I got messages from Māori and non-Māori saying ‘I’m really nervous I’ve never done a submission before to a committee, but I’ve used your template to help me’.”
Smail said she had turned her attention to opposing the Regulatory Standards Bill which was set to be introduced to parliament this year.
By Jess Hopkins of rnz.co.nz