The Maori Treaty

✅ True These Māori protests are connected to a bill currently under discussion, the "Treaty Principles Bill," and follow an initial haka performed by three Māori MPs in Parliament on November 14 (which we covered here: https://tinyurl.com/25vsxks5). Libertarian MP D. Seymour is behind this controversial legislation, which impacts the balance established by the Treaty of Waitangi, the peace agreement between Māori and the British Crown signed in 1840. This balance came about through a long compromise, as the English and Māori translations of the treaty differ, for example regarding property rights, referred to as "tino rangatiratanga" in Māori. This is fundamentally a debate over one of the founding documents of modern New Zealand. While the integration of Māori into New Zealand society is better than that of Aboriginal Australians, it's still fragile and imperfect, with higher mortality rates, poverty levels, and incarceration rates than the national average. This bill has no chance of being adopted because D. Seymour comes from a minority party, but the debate has reignited community divisions.