The Church and iwi have joined forces to "unequivocally" oppose the Bill which they say reinterprets the 184-year old Te Tiriti o Waitangi - the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Bill, which sets out proposed principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in legislation, is repeating historic mistakes the Church and iwi say.

On Thursday, Parliament was suspended briefly during the Bill's first reading as Maori MPs staged a haka to disrupt the vote.

Once order was restored, the Bill passed its first reading and will be voted on again next year.

It is not expected to go through a second reading as National and NZ First say they will not support it beyond the first.

Rewriting a sacred covenant

The Bishop of Wellington Justin Duckworth and Assistant Bishop of Wellington Anashuya Fletcher said "For us, the Treaty is a sacred covenant".

The Bill's misinterpretation of the Treaty between the British Crown and Indigenous Maori undermines "this sacred covenant" and diminishes "the mana of our forebears and all parties who signed it".

They agree the Treaty Principles Bill "has echoes" of a far-reaching judgement which the long-dead supreme court judge Sir James Prendergast made in 1877 concerning the Treaty, Ngati Toa and the Anglican Church.

The rift, the judgement and the Treaty

The 176-year rift between the Church and iwi had its roots in 1848, when Ngati Toa gifted land in Porirua to the Anglican Church.

In return, the Church promised to build a school for the iwi's rangatahi (young people).

No school was built. Later, the Church received a Crown grant to the land without Ngati Toa's consent.

Offended Ngati Toa chief and Executive Council member Wi Parata took the church to the Supreme Court in 1877.

The judges dismissed the case.

The Chief Justice of the day, Sir James Prendergast, in his ruling called the Treaty of Waitangi a "simple nullity" and "worthless".

It couldn't be of value because it was signed "between a civilised nation and a group of savages" he claimed.

"The dismissal of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in this landmark case was a grievous error that disregarded the sovereignty guaranteed to Maori under Te Tiriti" said Dr Taku Parai, Ngati Toa's Pou Tikanga.

The King's Counsel oppose the Bill

The Anglican Church and Ngati Toa's joint statement joins a chorus of opposition against the Bill, including a many thousands-strong hikoi that will arrive at Parliament grounds today.

Those on the hikoi are bringing with them a letter signed by 42 of the country's prominent King's Counsel.

The letter calls the Bill an attempt to rewrite the Treaty.

It will effectively unilaterally change Te Tiriti and its effect in law without the agreement of Maori as the Treaty partner, the King's Counsel say.

Source

• The Post

They want him to stop the "violent attack" on the Treaty presented by the ACT Party's Treaty Principals Bill.

Urgent hearing

Iwi chairperson Professor Makere Mutu presented evidence at an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing into the Bill.

She and other expert witnesses presented their concerns about the ACT Party's interpretation of the Treaty Articles in its Democracy or Co-Government Policy Paper.

ACT's translation is "nonsensical" Mutu said.

"Which tells me either that the person has absolutely no understanding of the reo at all or is so disparaging of the reo that they think nothing of doing ... gratuitous violence to our language ...".

Tribunal agrees

Tribunal panel member Monty Soutar agrees.

It is "just not possible to draw that English translation from the Maori that's there" he said.

Te reo Maori expert and Ngapuhi historian Hone Sadler also agrees.

"This cutting and pasting exercise ... demeans, debases and trivialises our founding document as a nation and disparages and denigrates Ngapuhi, the guardian of these sacred covenants" he told the Tribunal.

ACT's idea

Seymour reject's Sadler's view.

People say the Treaty "requires us to be divided by a partnership between races, rather than a compact that gives us the same rights, duties and then gives us - all of us - the right to self-determine" he says.

ACT says the Treaty redefined:

• Article 1: "Kawanatanga katoa o o ratou whenua" - the NZ Government has the right to govern all New Zealanders

• Article 2: "Ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani te tino rangatiratanga o o ratou whenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa" - the NZ government will honour all New Zealanders in the chieftainship of their land and all their property

• Article 3: "A ratou nga tikanga katoa rite tahi" - all New Zealanders are equal under the law with the same rights and duties.

Disgracing the Crown

Mutu told the Tribunal the government is disgracing the Crown with its actions.

The late Queen knew how to exercise her own rule of law in this country that upheld the mana and the tino rangatiratanga of our people, she said.

"We still look to King Charles ... to stop the lawless behaviour of the Pakehas. And that's all we're dealing with here ...."

She said ACT's plans could change the Treaty so iwi might be unable to pursue their historical claims.

Source

• ODT