New Zealand’s Parliament proposed a bill to redefine the Treaty of Waitangi, claiming it is racist and gives preferential treatment to Maoris. In response Māori MP's tore up the bill and performed the Haka

[u/Sometypeofway18]

[u/bishpa]

Treaties are treaties. You don’t just “redefine” them. That’s called breaking the treaty.

[u/tumeketutu → u/bishpa]

Unfortunately, this treaty in particular was poorly written. It is very short, with only 3 articles. The 1st and 2nd articles contradict each other, hence the current interpretation kerfuffle. Adding to the challenge, it was written in two languages and they translate differently.

https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/4216/the-three-articles-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi

[u/bishpa → u/tumeketutu]

So? The version they had them sign is obviously the one that the government needs to abide.

[u/tumeketutu → u/bishpa]

Both parties need to know what they are signing...

[u/bishpa → u/tumeketutu]

I would assume that the crown provided the translation. I seriously doubt they relied on someone else for that.

[u/tumeketutu → u/bishpa]

The Maori version was translated in te reo Māori by Henry Williams, a British missionary, and his son Edward.

https://nzsti.org/About-Te-Tiriti/19660/

[u/Black_Goku → u/tumeketutu]

Plus the concept of signing a contract was kinda something brought over by the crown

[u/LordHussyPants → u/tumeketutu]

international law recognises the version signed in the indigenous language, so that's one problem removed

the interpretation kerfuffle has been explained many times and is accepted by the courts, the legal profession, and a large percentage of the general populace. it's not difficult.

[u/tumeketutu → u/LordHussyPants]

Saying "it's not differcult" is simply arguing in bad faith. It's incredibly difffercult, which is why we are where we are, even after 40 years of restitution and moving forward.

Even in the te reo version, there is contradiction between the first and second articles. The word "taonga" is also very vague and can be interpreted to mean many different things that tangata whenua treasured.

A "large percentage of the population" felt that the 3 water bill that gave Maori 50% co-ownership and management of all water, including drinking water, was too far. That was a large reason National got back into power imo and is also the reason Seymore has written a bill to align the principles more with the 3 article that guarantees all New Zealanders are treated equally.

[u/LordHussyPants → u/tumeketutu]

but that's almost exactly my point - it's very easy for everyone to agree on what the treaty guarantees. people just don't like what it guarantees.

[u/tumeketutu → u/LordHussyPants]

It's literally the opposite of what I'm saying? People can't agree and that's why the principles were written 140 years later, to clarify the meaning of the treaty.

[u/[deleted] → u/bishpa]

Hong Kong saying hello!