Kia ora from Minette,

In our research at The Workshop, we consistently find that most of us share a desire for people across all communities and our environment to thrive. We care about other people’s wellbeing and want to live in cohesive, flourishing, and respectful communities. We know the Treaty is an important part of making that happen.

That tracks with the news this week: now that the report is out, we know that 90% of submissions to the Justice Select Committee opposed the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s news that puts our team in good company. Along with around 270,000 others, we spent some time coming into the summer break setting out the reasons why we believe this Bill is flawed and harmful to all of us who live here, regardless of where we whakapapa to.

We’d had the opportunity over several months in 2024 to listen to Pākehā people speak about te Tiriti o Waitangi | the Treaty of Waitangi. We heard that many Pākehā feel they currently understand very little and want to know and understand more about the treaty. We observed that this makes them susceptible to false information. We also learnt that this bill further eroded their trust in politicians and media.

These are the key takeaways from what we learned, and what we told the select committee:

Many of the Pākehā people we spoke with knew very little about te Tiriti | the Treaty, let alone the Treaty principles. Many of them were well aware of this, and really want to learn more about our founding document through open, well-supported, and politically neutral conversations. This tells us that any referendum on the treaty principles, or any Treaty-related topic right now would meet an ill-informed, and under-prepared public. It would not act as an opportunity for democratic participation, as some claim, but as an irresponsible and unhelpful abuse of democratic process. In fact, presenting the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill as an opportunity for education and public conversation preys on people’s goodwill and their desire to learn more about our founding document.
The people we spoke with lacked trust in politicians in general, and in the motives for this Bill, in particular. Many saw the Bill, and the process that was being followed to bring it before Parliament as unjust, divisive, and in bad faith. This tells us that the Bill, as well as any referendum that might follow, is likely to chip away at public confidence and trust in our government and in the political process in general.
Overwhelmingly, the people we spoke with saw Aotearoa New Zealand as distinctive in how we look out for each other. When given examples of how te Tiriti | the Treaty has been used to protect shared places and cultural values, and when presented with the treaty principles as they currently stand, people affirmed the value and relevance of te Tiriti | the Treaty and the current Treaty principles to our lives, both today and in the future. This tells us that by trying to re-define the principles of the Treaty in isolation from historical fact and informed public conversation this Bill contradicts the strongly held values of care, cooperation, and respect expressed in our research process. It denies the public the opportunity to continue benefiting from the unique partnership that the Treaty allows, and that they would value.

We can and should celebrate the fact that the vast majority of the vast number of submitters recognise how wrongheaded this Bill is. It’s important to know that others care, and the huge public opposition to the Bill is a testament to the fact that those of us who make our homes in Aotearoa New Zealand really do care about living in a way that is just, respectful, and based on mutual trust.

However, our research on this particular topic and the select committee process that followed show us that we need more and better ways to participate in our democracy in meaningful ways. This also tracks: as well as learning about the submissions process on this bill, we learned this week that social cohesion in Aotearoa is at risk. What we understand from our research on this particular topic is that we need more opportunities for respectful conversations in our communities, with kaumatua and kuia, local historians and local characters; more consistent and accessible education about our history in schools and public places; and more ways for all of us to feel connected to, engaged with, and respected by the ways our representatives make decisions that shape our lives. These are ways to really put our values into practice.

Read the full text of our submission

Ngā mihi

Minette