Rangatiratanga not party-political

By Justin Tipa

If we cut right to the heart of why Māori are so incensed by the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, it comes down to rangatiratanga.

One of ACT’s original treaty principle ‘definitions’ suggested that ‘tino rangatiratanga’ applies to individual citizens and boils down to a protection of property rights. This was a deliberate attempt to define rangatiratanga out of existence.

Now, in its latest attempt, ACT suggests if iwi and hapū are to exercise rangatiratanga (authority) – as guaranteed in Article II of the Treaty of Waitangi – that may only be done with express permission of the State.

The irony is that while ACT claims to support small government, it cannot handle the idea of iwi exercising authority over their own affairs, something that by its very nature reduces reliance on central government.

Rangatiratanga is not a party-political issue. I’m tired of hearing politicians talking past each other about it.

From my perspective, it’s simple. In 1840, Ngāi Tahu Rangatira committed to a constitutional monarchy who’s right to govern rests on its obligation to recognise and protect the tino rangatiratanga of iwi and hapū.

This understanding was central to the Ngāi Tahu Settlement, in which the Crown expressly recognises Ngāi Tahu as “the tāngata whenua of, and as holding rangatiratanga within, the Takiwā of Ngāi Tahu”.

Ngāi Tahu acknowledges the right of the Crown to govern, but that right goes hand in hand with its constitutional obligation to recognise and protect rangatiratanga.

How these rights interact with each other on a day-to-day basis is an ongoing discussion. At a minimum, it requires good faith and reciprocal relationships between iwi, hapū, and the Crown.

In my experience, the presence and status of rangatiratanga is not controversial to most New Zealanders. We accept and understand that rangatiratanga occupies a distinct place in the constitutional framework of our country. The controversy arises when competing political ideologies attempt to appropriate rangatiratanga for their own purposes. For some, it is the basis for an independent national Māori Parliament. For others, it’s a bug in the system that should be eradicated. And for others still, it’s ‘too Māori’.

Rangatiratanga is not mysterious. It is a fact of life in New Zealand, and it is not going anywhere. Parliament’s role is to protect and respect it, not allow politicians to paint over it in their party colours.

Ngāi Tahu is less interested in arguing about what it is, and more focused on how we exercise it for the benefit of our people and all New Zealanders. We should be having exciting discussions about the practical ways in which rangatiratanga can contribute to solving the housing crisis, addressing the infrastructure deficit, and empowering local communities to govern and manage their affairs in innovative ways.

Instead, officials and Parliament will now spend the next nine months on a pointless, divisive and expensive discussion of a Bill that the Prime Minister has said will be thrown out in May next year.

While Parliament wastes its time on that, Ngāi Tahu intends to provide a platform for a genuinely productive conversation about how rangatiratanga can make us a more successful, productive, and united country.

That is why this October we are hosting ‘Te Pūnuiotoka’, a hui ā motu for iwi and hapū leaders, to discuss how we as iwi and hapū can harness and develop the practical potential of rangatiratanga, for the benefit of our people, the development of our regions, and the prosperity of our nation.