Data from the Electoral Commission up to 25 November showed 2262 people changed from the general roll to the Maori roll - up from 59 in October. Just 28 people changed from Maori roll to general roll.

There were also 862 new enrolments on the Maori roll - up from 29 the previous month. All up, there were 3096 more people on the Maori roll than at the start of the month. Read more

Despite his claim of Maori ancestry, he is defending his Treaty Principles Bill.

His comments came as a hikoi opposing the bill reached Parliament, backed by passionate speeches and strong objections from Maori leaders.

Leaders voice Hapu concerns

Te Runanga o Ngati Rehia issued a statement condemning Seymour's proposed legislation, calling it a threat to mana Maori motuhake (Maori self-determination).

"Ngati Rehia oppose everything this bill stands for" the runanga said, urging Seymour to withdraw the bill which they say contradicts the principles his ancestors fought for.

They also expressed fears the bill would harm Maori communities.

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

Seymour stands firm on individual freedoms

Seymour responded by emphasising his belief in individual freedom over collective identity, stating he does not feel obligated to follow the perspectives of his hapu.

"If the proposition is that being Maori means I have to bow down and follow leadership, then that's not a very attractive proposition" Seymour told Local Democracy Reporting.

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

He also dismissed the hikoi's objections as lacking coherence, while acknowledging the intensity of Maori-related discussions at his public meetings.

Highly contentious remarks at ACT meeting

NZ Herald reports that at an Act Party meeting in New Plymouth on Wednesday, Seymour's audience voiced sharp criticisms of Maori issues, reflecting the polarising nature of the debate.

One attendee compared Maori to seagulls, suggesting continued government support led to dependency.

Another claimed the Treaty had been reinterpreted over time to serve a Maori elite, while another dismissed pre-colonial Maori society as violent.

Source

• NZ Herald

Metlink estimated 84,000 people took the train and 80,000 took the bus, making Tuesday the busiest day on record.

Thomas Nash, the Greater Wellington Regional Council's transport committee chairperson, was not surprised. Read more

Those who took part in the hikoi, along with supporters around the country, both Maori and non-Maori, consider the Bill to be a betrayal of the commitments made at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Waitangi Tribunal has voiced its deep concern.

It says if the Bill were to be enacted, it would fundamentally change the nature of the partnership between the Crown and Maori by "substituting existing Treaty principles for a set of propositions which bear no resemblance to the text or spirit of the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi".

Likewise, in September this year, 440 Christian leaders signed an open letter to MPs urging them to oppose the introduction of the Treaty Principles Bill. Why should this be a matter of concern to Christian leaders?

The Covenant

Soon after the Treaty had been signed in 1840, Maori began to refer to the Treaty as a covenant. This is biblical language.

Covenant is the word used to describe an unconditional commitment that God makes to humankind.

It is a commitment grounded in love and describes a relationship that is to be unbreakable and in which the parties involved seek the welfare of the other come what may, "in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, till death do us part", as the traditional vows of the marriage covenant put it.

Maori understood, apparently, that the Treaty established a relationship of this sort.

God's faithfulness and steadfast love and, derivatively, the faithfulness and commitment of marriage partners to one another was the model for the relationship established between the Crown and Maori signatories on behalf of their respective iwi.

Imagine then their dismay when the betrayals began, first with the seizure and illegal confiscation of land, then with the Native Lands Act, then with the efforts to suppress Maori language and culture.

Then came betrayals with the Tohunga Suppression Act, then with the payment of a pension to Maori during the 1920s and 30s at a rate 25 percent lower than non-Maori received, and so on and on.

The Treaty Principles Bill is yet another attempt to annul the promise of the covenant relationship that Maori saw embodied in the Treaty.

Biblical concepts

There were other biblical concepts in play when the Treaty was signed.

The word used in Te Tiriti, the Maori translation of the Treaty, to describe the authority being granted to the Crown is "kawanatanga".

That is not a native Maori word. It is a word coined to translate the term governorship. The governor in English became the kawana in te reo Maori.

Such a word was needed to translate the office held by Pontius Pilate, who is described in Matthew 27:15-26 as the governor.

Pilate, of course, was not the Emperor, he was not sovereign. He was an official answerable to a higher authority elsewhere and had strictly circumscribed authority himself.

His primary role was to maintain law and order. This was the level of authority being accorded to the Crown in the first article of the Treaty.

What kind of authority is then assigned to Maori in the second article? The words used in this case are ‘tino rangatiratanga'.

Rangatiratanga means chieftainship, sovereignty, self-determination.

It too appears in the Maori translation of the Bible, notably in the Lord's prayer, where the disciples of Jesus are enjoined to approach God with the prayer ‘Your kingdom come' — Kia tae mai tou rangatiratanga.

Then at the conclusion of the prayer they are instructed to pray, "For yours is the kingdom ..." — Nou hoki te rangatiratanga.

The modifier "tino" used before rangatiratanga in the second article of the Treaty heightens the quality being referred to. It means that something is unrivalled or of great intensity.

Within the framework of biblical thought, with which Maori had now become very familiar and which the Reverend Henry Williams, translator of the Treaty, likely appealed to when encouraging the chiefs to sign, rangatiratanga is clearly a more elevated authority than kawanatanga.

The biblical provenance of the language used in Te Tiriti should dissuade us, therefore, from the frequently heard contention that in signing Te Tiriti Maori ceded sovereignty.

What they ceded was kawanatanga, the same kind of authority to maintain law and order that Pontius Pilate held as Governor of Judaea.

It was promised to Maori in return that they should retain their already existing tino rangatiratanga, their sovereignty, over "o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa", that is, over their lands, their homes (or habitats) and over all their treasures.

With the Native Lands Act of 1863, a mere 23 years after the signing of the Treaty, this promise had been betrayed, the land confiscations had begun.

Rebuild relationships

Far from betraying further through the Treaty Principles Bill the covenant relationship that was understood to have been established at Waitangi in 1840, we should instead be devoting our efforts to rebuilding the relationship on the terms that were first agreed.

• Republished with permission of the ODT
• Murray Rae is a University of Otago professor of theology.

Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington, Monsignor Gerard Burns, and the Anglican Bishop of Wellington, the Most Reverend Justin Duckworth, both walked alongside thousands of others protesting the Government's Treaty Principles Bill on Tuesday.

Both church leaders spoke of issues like social justice, a shared history and the need to uphold the treasure of the Treaty.

That treasure looks likely to be lost if the Bill - which intends to codify some aspects of the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi - passes into law.

Duckworth says 230,000 people signed the petition which calls on the coalition government to stop the Treaty Principles Bill from passing into law.

The petition was handed to the Government on Tuesday.

A shared history

Catholic leadership was represented at Waitangi in 1840 when the Treaty was signed, Burns says.

Bishop Pompallier was at the Treaty debate in 1840 and intervened in favour of denominational and religious equality.

"Faith-wise - in addition to the Treaty's human and political context - I see Te Tiriti in terms of a covenant, similar to the covenants of the Scriptures" Burns says.

It's a covenant for everyone. It's for Maori. It's for others - like my family - who moved here a few generations ago, he says. But it hasn't always been honoured.

"I have been involved in various social justice issues for a long time and one of the longest is the question of Maori rights, given the marginalisation of iwi Maori during the European settlement and colonisation of Aotearoa New Zealand since 1840. All in contravention of the promises made by the British Crown in the Treaty of Waitangi."

Burns says that in the last 40 years, the Treaty (especially the Maori version - Te Tiriti) has been given new life by Maori advocacy, solid academic and historical work, and a broadening of knowledge about this country's history.

"This has filtered into everyday life, the law, practice of institutions, art, theatre, education, religious ceremonies.

"Generally this has been positive for our country and certainly adopted by our advertising and trade advocates to promote a ‘point-of-difference' for tourism and commerce.

"A variety of legislative projects are looking to roll back some of these developments and for what reason? I think to promote the possibilities of wealth for a few, under the guise of promoting debate, ensuring democracy, etc."

He indicates that marching in the hikoi was the correct response to these covenant breaches.

Catholic representation at Hikoi

Catholic Peacemakers and Challenge 2000 were two significant bodies joining the hikoi. Many others - lay people, priests and religious participated.

Catholic Peacemakers began with prayer at St Mary of the Angels and joined the hikoi as it passed by the Church.

Challenge 2000 viewed participation in the hikoi as part of its mission to uphold the Treaty of Waitangi. For them it was considered a working day.

"This hikoi aligns with our commitment to Te Tiriti" said a Challenge 2000 spokesperson. "It's an opportunity for us to stand together in solidarity and demonstrate our values in action."

"This is about honouring our past and paving a way for a fairer future" said one participant.

"Kotahitanga at its finest, represented with so much mana, aroha, a bit of hoha, but most of all it was a historical and pivotal moment where, as a Maori woman, I could reclaim some sense of the mana that had been stripped away from my people and my whenua" said a staff member.

"I saw people of all ages and ethnicities joining together, proclaiming Te Tiriti as the founding charter for all of Aotearoa New Zealand.

"The hikoi asserted biculturalism, demonstrating compassion, forgiveness and love to those who wish to hurt people through division, scapegoating and disrespect.

"It was a sign of hope and unity leaping like fire in the people's hearts" said a Pakeha social worker.

"The hikoi was a living sign of how successful Te Tiriti can be" says a Challenge 2000 spokesperson.

"The Queen and Maori made a sacred covenant together, which gives me a right to be here, so I am here as a citizen of Aotearoa New Zealand because Maori tupuna welcomed my Irish and Scandinavian ancestors.

Catholic Church silent

A CathNews correspondent expressed disappointment with the New Zealand Catholic bishops' apparent silence on a specific call to stop the Bill.

She says there is no statement on the NZ Bishop's website but notes the Anglican Diocese of Wellington's website shows significant support for stopping the Bill.

"It is important as a Church we don't limit ourselves to weeping over past disgraces to the point that we miss what's going on under our noses" she said.

Source

• Supplied
• Anglican Movement NZ

The bishops have decided to postpone the hikoi in which a specially-commissioned artwork will be displayed.

Bishop Stephen Lowe, (pictured) Secretary of the Bishops' Conference, says the bishops revised their original plan after deciding the hikoi had been approved without sufficient discussions with the wider community, including Katorika (Catholic) Maori.

The postponement is 'until further notice'.

Lowe says a decision on whether a hikoi might be planned for after 15 August would be made following further community discussions.

The hikoi had been set for the three months leading to the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August.

Despite the postponement, the bishops' other plans to renew the country's dedication to Our Lady will continue.

They will still gather at St Mary of the Angels Church in Wellington on Sunday 15 August for a Mass to renew Pompallier's 1838 dedication of Aotearoa New Zealand to Our Lady Assumed into Heaven.

When the hikoi was first announced in March, Bishop Stephen Lowe explained its purpose.

"Bishop Pompallier had already dedicated the country to Mary."

"But the bishops thought the idea of a renewal of that dedication had merit, especially because this year, August 15th is a Sunday.

"Mary has a special and very holy place in the hearts of Catholics. In this time of a world pandemic, we felt it fitting to renew our country's dedication to her."

Pompallier - who was the country's first Catholic bishop (1838 to 1868) - dedicated the country to Our Lady's care when he celebrated his first Mass here at Totara Point in Northland on 13 January 1838.

Parishes throughout the country will continue to be invited to join in prayer for the renewal of the dedication.

The bishops commissioned the artwork of Mary from Christchurch artist Damien Walker and had planned that the work would be taken on a hikoi around each of the country's six Catholic dioceses in the three months leading to the Solemnity of the Assumption.

Damien Walker, says the painting "presents Mary as a symbol of unity in her universal motherhood, uniting Heaven and Earth in her son."

"She reflects the unity of the Church, which reaches to the ends of the Earth, stretching not only across the oceans but across the centuries as well.

"The work has a distinctly New Zealand flavour, emphasising also the unity of the tangata whenua with all the other peoples who have come to live alongside them in the partnership of biculturalism, called to live the same faith and baptism, each in their unique way."

In the bishops' statement, Lowe does not mention what will happen with the artwork.

Source

• New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference
• New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference
• Image: NZ Catholic

Bishop Michael Smith holds it up as a symbol of progress made by Maori and as an emblem of the partnerships formed between Anglicans in Aotearoa and Episcopalians in the United States.

It also symbolises the church's responsibility to advocate for social justice.

Smith was given the flag 2003 when he was a member of an American delegation attending a meeting of the Anglican Indigenous Network in Rotorua.

Members of each delegation were invited to bring flags that represented their native cultures.

Smith, a member of the Potawatomi tribe, is originally from Oklahoma, and he chose to bring that state's flag which features the battle shield of an Osage warrior and other Native American icons.

Bishop Whakahuihui Vercoe, who hosted meeting asked if he could have it and Smith gladly agreed. Then Vercoe gave Smith his Maori Anglican one.

When he received the flag Smith was a priest serving on an American Indian reservation in Minnesota. He was honoured to receive the flag but only later learned its full significance

In 2008, after Smith had become bishop of the Diocese of North Dakota, he met the Maori bishops at that year's Lambeth Conference.

They explained the flag's significance but said it would be improper to return such a gift.

They suggested, however, that it may be proper to arrange for the flag to be returned to the Maori after Smith's and Vercoe's deaths, which is what Smith will do. (Vercoe died in 2007.)

Source

• Episcopal News Service
• Image: Episcopal News Service

The hikoi, Te Harinui - A hikoi of Joyful News celebrates 200 years since the beginnings of the Christian gospel in New Zealand.

The hikoi begins this Friday, 14th March on Stewart Island. The final destination is Kurow, in the Waitaki Valley, on 12th April.

Bishop Kelvin and his support crew will walk and cycle a total of 830 kilometres. This will include the Central Otago Rail Trail.

The Archbishop of York, The Most Rev'd Dr John Sentamu will join Bishop Kelvin on the hikoi, through Wanaka and Queenstown.

Updates to the hikoi will be on www.calledsouth.org.nz

Source

• scoop.co.nz
• Image: calledsouth.org