If you watch TikTok, you might have seen the viral clip of the New Zealand Parliament circulating. It involves Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, the youngest Māori electorate, leading her party and others in the chamber through an important Māori ritual, the Haka, in protest against the ACT (a right-wing political party)-led Treaty Principals bill. This bill would alter New Zealand’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi.
Let me give you a quick summary: in 1840, the British Crown and Māori rangatira (the Māori word for Chief) united to sign a treaty that would determine the fate of a country. Both sides believed that British settlers and the Māori people could coexist peacefully, and the Treaty of Waitangi ceded Māori sovereignty to the British Crown. Unfortunately, in the Māori language, there was no specific word for sovereignty. The British translators used the next closest word: kāwatanga, which means governance, not sovereignty. This mistranslation was the cause of many wars between the white colonizers and the indigenous Māori in the 1850s and ’60s, and currently causes tension between the two sides.
Eventually, the Treaty came to signify a joining of the Māori people and British settlers in a partnership. The Maōri are now guaranteed several seats in Parliament, a strategy called co-governance. In New Zealand, it assures that the coalition government will always hear the Māori voices.
David Seymour, the Leader of the ACT Party, believes that the Treaty pronounced the Māori people subjects of the British Crown, not equals. With the Treaty Principles bill, he and his party hope to make “all New Zealanders equal,” and by doing so, take away many historic Māori rights. The Bill passed its first reading in Parliament, despite significant pushback from the Māori citizens. That leads us to today, where the Māori are going viral online for their unique and peaceful forms of protest.
It was ironic seeing this take to the news recently, as I have been studying this controversial topic for a few months. I was assigned to represent a conservative voice in creating the Treaty of Waitangi in South Korea Model UN.
In my opinion, equity versus equality is a major concept to consider. The ACT Party favors the latter. They argue that all New Zealanders are equal in the eyes of the government, and thus, the Māori should not receive special funding and seats. I counter with this: the day that the Māori face no discrimination, are not villainized for simply living in their homeland, and have equal opportunities to non-native Kiwis, is when there will be equality.
Māori make up 15% of the New Zealand population, but 52% of their prisons. Only 28% of Māori are able to find houses, compared to the 57% rate of Europeans in New Zealand. Māori also have a shocking seven-times shorter life expectancy than the average.
The New Zealand Parliament must not forsake the original inhabitants of its lands, especially after already killing nearly half of the precolonial population with diseases carried from Europe in the 1800s and stealing their land every decade since. This bill is not about all New Zealanders becoming equal, it is about capitalizing on New Zealanders’ anger and channeling it for the personal pursuit of power and prestige. The Māori culture is facing extinction; their language and their way of life is fading from New Zealand. It is important for Parliament to empower them, not abandon them.
You, dear reader, might be wondering why this is important. After all, you’re no New Zealand citizen. But, we are Americans. And as Americans, we are privileged to have a voice – and have one that can be loud and powerful. We have a responsibility to speak for those who do not have the same rights and privileges.
In our own country, we face a multitude of problems: racism, sexism, poverty, and much more. But no one—no government official, no person of authority, no parent, no teacher—can take away your right to your voice. So, this new year, I urge you to speak up for what you believe in. Whether domestically or internationally, on big issues or small, for yourself or for others, your voice matters and holds weight. And for the Maōri, a marginalized group who needs all those who are willing to speak loud, I gladly give my voice.
