Seymour says controversial Treaty Bill will surprise haters and supporters alike

ACT leader David Seymour says his party’s Treaty Principles Bill (TPB), which is almost ready to present to Parliament, may actually surprise many.

The TPB is motivated by the 1975 Treaty of Waitangi Act, which ACT says New Zealanders were not "democratically consulted" on.

The TPB has received criticism from many, including Prime Minister Christopher Luxon saying they will not support it past the first reading.

Speaking to William Terite on Pacific Mornings, Seymour said they aimed to present the bill to Parliament by November and that the final copy would surprise everyone.

"The people who want to hate it will have to take a second look and the people that like it for the wrong reasons won't see it as what they think it is," he said.

"My view is that the Treaty is currently interpreted as a 'partnership between races'. What that means is that your future in this country really depends on your past.

"I want a society where everyone has a chance and a choice to make the most of their time on earth and flourish in their own way."

Seymour said they were around two to three months away from publicising the bill's details and having it debated in Parliament with a select committee process around it.

Watch David Syemour's full interview via 531pi’s FB below:

Last month, more than 150 community groups and civil society organisations signed an open letter to Luxon calling for an immediate stop to the bill.

Pacific organisations were among the signatories, including Moana Vā, Pacific Panthers, and Cook Islands/Māori journalist Qiane Matata-Sipu.

The letter described the bill as "constitutionally destructive" and that it should not be dignified with a select committee hearing.

The Waitangi Tribunal also released a report on the TPB, saying a slew of rights would be compromised including the reduction of the Treaty's constitutional status, limiting Crown obligations, hindering Māori access to justice, and impacting Treaty settlements.

ACT has stated the goal of the TPB is not to change the Treaty of Waitangi Act, but to contribute to how the Treaty principles are defined and who can contribute to that discussion.

Seymour said this "uneasy" conversation around the Treaty was a necessary one for building a "basic agreement of what is the place of each person in society".

"This is a debate that needs to be had,” he said.

“The reason that people are so angry about this is we're now saying everyone gets a say about the future of our country.

"You don't have to be an expert, you don't have to be Māori, you don't have to have any special qualification.

"You just have to be a New Zealander, who lives under our laws and our constitution, and if that's the case you can have a say about it."