Tongan youth advocate calls for Treaty Bill submissions

A Tongan youth advocate urges Pacific communities to weigh in on the controversial Treaty Principles Bill following the high-profile hīkoi mō Te Tiriti (March for the Treaty) protest.

The nine-day march opposing the Treaty Principles Bill (TPB) started at Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Rēinga) earlier this month. It concluded in Wellington with tens of thousands of supporters outside Parliament.

The Treaty Principles Bill (TPB), introduced by ACT Party leader David Seymour, seeks to redefine the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi within legislation.

This has prompted accusations of undermining Māori rights and the partnership established through Aotearoa’s founding document.

With the TPB passing its first reading, the bill is now with the Select Committee, where the public can make submissions on it.

Speaking to Latu Konifelenisi-Fonua on PMN Tonga, Simulata Pope, Senior Policy Advisor at the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, urged Pacific communities, particularly youth, to engage in the legislative process by submitting their views.

Watch Simulata Pope’s full interview via PMN Tonga’s FB below.

“It's really important for us, our Tongan community, [to understand] the history behind the treaty and the affirmation of our rights as Pacific people here - We’re in the same boat. We're just in a different governing body.”

Pope said Māori and Pacific communities share similar experiences and challenges and that “we have the same mana and the same power.”

“On the other side, we have the same issues, the same inequities, and we have the same vulnerabilities being people of colour, Indigenous people of our own land, and people who find a very complicated sense of belonging in our New Zealand context.”

Pope said many Tongan youth kickstarted submission centres to help others have their voices heard.

The New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa (NZEI) has listed TPB submission workshops, and the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) has provided resources for the public to craft their submissions.

Pope believed standing with the tangata whenua was important and said the Crown had failed to uphold its promises in the original Treaty, which was demonstrated in current social inequities.

“You can see that through the land wars, racism, and a lot of the education in our youth justice system.

“There are a lot of numbers in government in terms of the poorest, and then the uneducated, and the highest rates of prison incarceration are all Māori people - we have high rates of crime, racism and discrimination.”

She also said the viral haka in Parliament, led by Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, showed the world their dissatisfaction with how Māori had been treated historically and the TPB.

Public submissions on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill are open until January 7, 2025 - To make a submission, click here.