ACT's David Seymour won't 'bow down' to his hapū leaders

The creator of the Treaty Principles Bill David Seymour says he doesn't have to bow down to leaders of his hapū who have pleaded for him to stop what they say are abusive violations of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

As the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti approached Parliament on Tuesday, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia stated their "utmost support for this powerful movement and display of mana Māori motuhake".

"Ngāti Rēhia oppose everything this bill stands for," their statement read.

The ACT Party leader Seymour has whakapapa to the Ngāpuhi hapū through his mother.

Rūnanga leaders had told Seymour in person that the bill went against everything his hapū had fought for and "that his hapū have serious concerns that his Bill will hurt our people".

"He has disregarded our voice and continued with this divisive kaupapa."

"Whakakorengia tēnei pire. Whakamutua ēnei mahi tūkino ki te Tiriti o Waitangi."

(Quash this bill. Stop these abusive violations of the Tiriti.)

Ahead of an ACT Party public meeting in New Plymouth on Wednesday night, Seymour told Local Democracy Reporting he respected the rūnanga's view but believed primarily in the freedom of the individual.

"If the proposition is that being Māori means I have to bow down and follow leadership, then that's not a very attractive proposition.

"The idea that I have to think the same as every ancestor I have."

Seymour said the hīkoi had presented no coherent objection to the Treaty Principles Bill.

His audience of up to 200 were highly engaged on Māori issues even before Seymour arrived.

One said Māori were like seagulls: if you feed them "more come - and then they start crapping on you."

Another said that over the years there'd been a "self-serving reinterpretation of the Treaty to benefit the Māori elite".

Yet another reckoned that before Pākehā brought colonisation and war Māori "were killing each other anyway".

There was talk of what percentage of Māori ancestry should count, and an assertion that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wasn't brave enough to investigate Māori organisations with charity tax status.

Predominantly aged over 60, the audience's biggest applause during Seymour's speech was for the government cutting 6000 public servant roles.

Across town from the ACT Party gathering, a smaller but more varied group met to talk about Tuesday's hīkoi and consider what to do next.

Some 20 residents came to the Green Door Café to wānanga (discuss and deliberate) how to spread understanding about Te Tiriti.

A range of ideas were reported from small group discussions, including hui where nervous Pākehā could ask questions about the Treaty, festive events like the pre-hīkoi mini-concert in Wellington's Waitangi Park, making creative and striking submissions, and ensuring activists look after themselves in a stress-fraught campaign.

By chance the wananga organiser Ngāneko Eriwata also belongs to Seymour's hapū Ngāti Rēhia.

"I'm related to him, we come from the same marae, we come from the same hapū on my Mum's side.

"I'm not proud to say that but I'm proud of who I am, my Ngāti Rēhia side, my Tauwhara marae where I laid my grandmother to rest last year.

"And yet to wear my [Ngāti Rēhia] t-shirt in public can make me feel like I shouldn't be proud of who I am - because of him. That sucks."

It's not only New Plymouth's activists that reject the Treaty Principles Bill.

The district's mayor Neil Holdom joined the hīkoi on Tuesday, saying it was "pretty cool to be part of today's march… to object to a draft piece of legislation designed to divide New Zealanders".

"As a proud Kiwi I'm up for debate and discussion about how we build a better future for the next generation.

"However, this bill is not the answer and weirdly the vast majority of MPs agree."

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.