Representatives of more than 80 Māori tribes have issued a rare treaty King Charles III demanding his intervention in New Zealand politics, amid growing concern about the government’s policies for Māori and the growing relationship between Indigenous people and the governing powers.
The National Iwi Chairs Forum – a collective of tribal leaders – sent a letter to the King asking him “to ensure that [New Zealand] “The government does not diminish the honor of the crown” over what they believe are promises made by the crown to Māori in perpetuity Treaty of WaitangiNew Zealand’s founding document.
Since taking office last year, New Zealand’s governing coalition has launched a Māori-directed policy. the biggest ever die in Māori rights, meeting Māori leaders and condemnation by the Waitangi Tribunal, the institution that investigates the split Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty was signed in 1840 between more than 500 Māori leaders and the British Crown and was instrumental in protecting rights.
The Guardian Forum gave first access to the letter, which was signed by more than 500 people, including the leaders of the three ambassadors. Māori organizations and others
The chair of the Ngāti Wai tribe and chair of one of the forum’s groups, Aperahama Edwards, told the Māori Guardian he was fed up with his unprecedented future.
“We have had 184 years of flattery to the modesty and benevolence of the government and not reciprocated, so we have to bring it here to think. [these issues] he can intercede with King Charles with hope.
The rationale behind many of the government’s proposals is to end “gender-based” policies, tackle crime and reduce bureaucracy. SOCIETY said it was committed to better outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders.
But the critics are afraid his inventionsincluding the roll-out of the use of the Māori language in public services, a shake-up of the institution to remedy the inequities, and the introduction; controversial bill those who tried to radically change the way the treaty was interpreted were meant to undermine Māori rights, fuel anti-Māori rhetoric, and start Māori’s relationship with the crown.
Māori make up 20% of New Zealand’s population and face disproportionately negative outcomes in health, home ownership, employment rates, education and prison numbers.
Margaret Mutu, the chair of the forum and a professor at the University of Auckland, who helped write the letter, said that the coalition negotiations were a serious violation of the treaty. The king hoped that he would be reminded of the obligations of the treaty.
Two pages of the letter begin with an acknowledgment of the King’s relation to the the late Māori king Tuheitia hope and relationship will thrive under theo The new Māori Queengathering the waters at night.
Queen Victoria’s dealings with Māori chiefs to make a treaty in 1840 and the breaking of crown promises years later. In recent years he says the relationship between Māori and the crown has been well developed but has changed under the new government.
In the letter, the new coalition government “promised to attack the feds and rights of Māori”.
The letter lists the legislative changes that cause the greatest concern, including barriers to reviving the Māori language, policies that further disconnect Māori children from their ancestors if they are taken into the state, and reducing the role of the Waitangi Tribunal. land and sea are more at risk of mining.
The letter points to speech The King became President of the Republic in 2022, where he discussed the need to “print a common future of interest to all our citizens” and “recognize the new ways of the past” and implore the King for help.
“On behalf of the constitutional monarchy and the rise of Queen Victoria, we ask for your intervention so that the government does not diminish the honor of the crown,” he said, adding that the signatories are united in their “serious concern about what these actions mean. Do it to the whānau [families]”.
Edwards said the obligation to honor the promises of the treaty rested not only on the descendants of the princes who signed it, but on the descendants of Queen Victoria: King Charles III.
“We believe that his concern for environmental and social justice and his potential to play an important role in reminding the state of the importance of protecting sacred conventions.” [the treaty]Edwards said.
New Zealand’s minister for Māori Crown relations, Tama Potaka, was contacted for comment.
Buckingham Palace has also been contacted for comment.
Edwards said the council had yet to hear from the palace, but he hoped the king would read the letter and offer some help because the safety of Māori and the treaty’s relationship were in doubt.
“We are facing some of the saddest times our country has ever experienced … we will not sit back and be complacent.”