from David Seymour
After we introduced the Treaty Principles Bill into Parliament last week, the media seems to have had something of a collective meltdown. The best example of this so far is Jenny-May Clarkson’s interview with me on TV1’s Breakfast.
Jenny-May described the Bill as divisive. But that’s just some people’s view. The media’s job is to represent the view of all New Zealanders, not just a vocal minority. She also asserted that the Bill changes the Treaty. This is simply untrue. It changes the principles created by Parliament back in 1975. This is what we are up against, You just have to contrast Jenny-May’s questioning of me with the gushing interview with one of the hīkoi organisers that same morning.
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The correspondent couldn’t contain her excitement, starting with a haka, referring to him as ‘our spokesperson for Toitū te Tiriti hīkoi’, and singing along with him.
Sections of the media are actively campaigning against the Treaty Principles Bill
And we know from public polling that when New Zealanders are told what’s actually in the Bill, many more support it than do not. Here’s what it says in a nutshell:
- The Crown has the right to govern.
- New Zealanders’ rights will be protected – including those of iwi.
- We all have equal rights.
What’s not to like?
It’s time for a national conversation on the Treaty Principles. Categorising people by their race used to be called racism, but today some people consider it to be a legitimate view.
We can’t keep sweeping difficult discussions like these under the carpet and hoping they will go away.
And that’s the job of ACT in government.
The late Christopher Ruthe described watching TV One News and Current Affairs as bad for the blood pressure and that’s how the rest of us feel about it, so we generally don’t, only when items are egregiously bad like this. Many readers say the same. This State-Owned Enterprise should be privatised forthwith. —Eds