Maori parties raise treaty clause issue

Posted by karere under Maori News

Two Maori parties are urging iwi to resist any attempt by the government to scrap the Treaty of Waitangi clause in the State-owned Enterprises Act.
The Maori Party and the Mana Party suspect that’s what ministers have in mind as they start a series of hui to consult iwi about the partial sale of four state-owned power companies.

The government says it’s simply consulting Maori, as it promised it would before the election.

The treaty clause in the legislation says the government won’t act “in a manner inconsistent with principles of the Treaty of Waitangi”.

The parties interpret that as meaning strategic assets shouldn’t be sold.

“The treaty is stopping the government flogging off the nation’s assets, so they’re going to throw the treaty out,” Mana Party leader Hone Harawira said on Monday.

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples says the treaty protects the sovereignty and independence of New Zealand as a whole.

“The planned sale of power companies raises issues of ownership and management of fresh water and other natural resources,” he said.

“We welcome the government’s decision to consult Maori, which carries a legal obligation to take Maori views into account and we urge iwi to defend their treaty rights.”

The State-owned Enterprises Act has existed since 1986 and numerous state-owned assets have been sold since then by successive governments.

[source]

Read all the news [here]