In a move that challenges the authority of our democratically elected Government, Te Pāti Māori, its supporters, and several iwi leaders are calling for the creation of a separate Māori parliament.
This demand echoes the goal of dismantling New Zealand's current political system and implementing a dual governance structure based on race, as outlined in the Matike Mai report by the Iwi Chairs Forum and the He Puapua report commissioned by the Labour Government in 2019. But as former Labour Prime Minister David Lange warned in 2000:
“We can have a democratic form of government, or we can have indigenous sovereignty. They can’t coexist and we can’t have them both.”
Supporters of a constitution based on race often justify this proposition by claiming that Māori did not cede sovereignty to the Crown when they signed the Treaty of Waitangi. However, this assertion ignores the ample evidence available from detailed notes of the speeches made on February 5, 1840. These records outline the Māori perspective, both for and against, including the key arguments that influenced many iwi leaders to endorse the Treaty. The speeches clearly show that the chiefs understood they were relinquishing power to a higher authority. Accounts from witnesses at the signing of the Treaty, such as Henry Williams and William Colenso, confirm that Britain's representative Captain William Hobson took great care to ensure Māori understood the terms before consenting to the Treaty. Lord Normanby, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, made it clear in his instructions to Hobson the need for sincerity, justice, and good faith in all dealings with Māori for the recognition of her Majesty's sovereignty. Hobson was required to make sure the parties understood the implications of the agreement, and that British sovereignty could only be acquired with the free and intelligent consent of the native people.
Despite resistance from some, more than 500 Māori leaders signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840, including many of those who had initially argued against it.
If any further proof is needed of the acceptance of the Queen’s sovereignty, it can be found in the speeches made by the chiefs at the Kohimarama Conference of 1860. All 112 chiefs present unanimously pledged to do nothing inconsistent with their declared recognition of the Queen's sovereignty, and of the union of the two races. Many of these chiefs had signed Te Tiriti in 1840.
This commitment was reiterated a century later by Sir Āpirana Ngata, a prominent New Zealand statesman and Minister for Māori Development, who stated that Māori ceded sovereignty by signing Te Tiriti. During a speech commemorating the Treaty’s centenary, Sir Āpirana emphasized the importance of this understanding, stating: “Clause 1 of the Treaty handed over the mana and the sovereignty of New Zealand to Queen Victoria and her descendants forever. That is the outstanding fact today. That but for the shield of the sovereignty handed over to Her Majesty and her descendants I doubt that there would be a free Maori race in New Zealand today.”
The Treaty served its constitutional purpose in transferring sovereignty to the British Crown. That sovereignty has been exercised for the last 184 years, recognised both in the body of our laws and political structures. Despite challenges raised in the 2014 Waitangi Tribunal WAI 1040 report, which suggests that the rangātira who signed te Tiriti o Waitangi did not cede sovereignty to the British Crown, the Crown maintains full sovereignty in New Zealand. This was confirmed by Chris Finlayson, the Attorney General and Minister responsible for Treaty negotiations at the time, who stated unequivocally that "There is no doubt that the Crown possesses sovereignty in New Zealand. This report does not alter that reality."
The sovereignty of New Zealand is vested in the House of Representatives.
The traditional concept of 'the Crown' has transformed since the signing of the Treaty. Although New Zealand remains a constitutional monarchy, it is now an independent and sovereign nation with a democratic system, where the authority to govern is derived from the people. For all intents and purposes, the term 'the Crown' now represents the collective voice of all the people of New Zealand, making every citizen a part of the sovereign entity. As Jack Vowles, Professor of Political Science at Victoria University explains, "in a democracy, sovereignty is sourced in “the people”. Like everyone else, Māori citizens vote in elections and elect MPs and are therefore part of the Crown: the sovereign people". Professor Vowles adds:
“Sovereignty cannot be divided, because such division would inevitably result in conflict that would often fail to be resolved”.
As ‘the people’ are the fundamental source of sovereignty in a democracy, advocates for a separate sovereignty are essentially challenging the collective will of all the people.
References
The Authentic and Genuine History of the Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi – W. Colenso
The Treaty and its Times - Paul Moon & Peter Biggs (Resource Books)
A history of New Zealand - Shrimpton, A. W. (Arnold Wilfred), (Whitcombe & Tombs)
The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 69 [History of the Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi] Victoria University Library
New Zealand Parliament: New Zealand Sovereignty: 1857, 1907, 1947, or 1987