He mihi aroha ki a Tariana Turia rāua ko tana mokopuna a Pakaitore
Kahurangi Tariana Turia. Photo/graphic credit: Julie Herewini
E rere e te piki kōtuku ki tua o pae maumahara, whaia te ara o te tira hāere e kore nei anō a muri e hokia. Hāere atu rā e te whāea, e te kahurangi e Tariana, whakangaro atu kourua ko tō mokopuna, a Pakaitore ki tua whakarere, ko rēira kourua ka tūtataki anō i a rātou katoa, arā ko to hoa tāne, a Hori.
Ko koe tētahi o ngā tino pou herenga waka, arā he toka tu moana, e kore e tāea te whakanekeneke, ahakoa te nui o ngā ngaru e papaki ana i a koe, te kaha pupuhi o ngā hau moana, i tū kaha tonu koe!
He hautupua koe i roto i te ao tōrangapu, hoi, he whāea pūmau koe mo to pā harakeke, arā mo to hoa rangatira, a kourua tamariki me ngā mokopuna katoa.
I te tangi tonu te iwi mōu e ngaro nei, e haruru tonu ana te whenua, i tō hinganga. Hāere e te whaea, hāere rā kourua ko to mokopuna a Pakaitore. Kua waihotia mai o whakaakoranga mo mātou kua waihotia mai ki tēnei ao kikokiko, arā, mo nga uri kei te heke tonu mai.
New GE Bill threatens Te Tiriti, Hua Parakore, Rongoā
Kawakawa balm being made by rongoā practitioner.
On December 10, the Coalition Government introduced a Gene Technology Bill that overturns GE Free Aotearoa. It was sent to the Health Select Committee and submissions close on 17 February 2025. The government wants it to become operational this year. Officials were told to develop a new law based on the Coalition Agreements, and in particular the National Party’s three priorities to: end the effective ban on Genetic Engineering and Genetic Modification; create a dedicated regulator to oversee the new GE regime; and streamline approvals for trials of use of non- GE/GM biotechnology.
Officials admit:
- “The Bill does not likely meet the level necessary for high quality regulatory analysis”
- They “did not publicly consult on the proposed regulatory changes or engage broadly with Māori”
- “The proposals also have impacts for Māori, as use of gene technology engages Māori rights and interests under te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi”
- and they expect Māori to oppose the Bill that “removes oversight of modifications made to species of importance to Māori, including native flora, fauna, and taonga species as this may not uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi/ the Treaty of Waitangi obligations.”
A breakdown of the Bill and its implications for Te Tiriti, Hua Parakore, Rongoā, organics and mātauranga will be uploaded to our website this week. There’s also a summary of a recent trade dispute where the US sued Mexico under a free trade agreement after Mexico banned GE corn for use in food, in part to protect native corn. The panel said Mexico didn’t have scientific evidence to support the ban and the Indigenous People’s Exception didn’t apply.
Mining magnate Clive Palmer, who own Mineralogy, is suing Australia for $420 billion under ISDS
Mining magnate Clive Palmer is the fifth richest Australian and worth about A$23 billion. Palmer owns mining company Mineralogy. In 2023, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment had issued 10 permits for Mineralogy to prospect and explore for minerals in Aotearoa, such as for gold, lithium or rare minerals, and another eight were under consideration, including on conservation land. It’s operating across Auckland, Northland, Waikato and the West Coast and has faced staunch resistance from tangata whenua in many rohe.
Palmer has a history of using the courts to intimidate governments and critics. He is currently suing Australia for A$420 billion in four cases over government actions to reduce carbon emissions or mining. Having lost in Australian courts, Palmer shifted his company to Singapore and is suing Australia under controversial investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) rules the ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand Agreement. Even though successive New Zealand governments withdrew support for ISDS, AANZFTA has just been renewed and still has ISDS. So Palmer – or even a New Zealand investor – could threaten the same thing here if a government tried to roll back Mineralogy’s activities here. They may not win, but the threat of a case may be enough for the Crown to put Palmer’s profits ahead of te Tiriti.
Treaty Principles Bill and Regulatory Standards Bill
More than 50,000 people marched onto Parliament grounds for the hīkoi against the Treaty Principles Bill on November 19.
The battle continues against ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill as it cynically seeks to dispatch Te Tiriti into oblivion. Ngā Toki Whakarururanga has insisted that Te Tiriti stands on its own, and that free trade and investment agreements do not refer to “Treaty principles” that the Crown claims the power to define. So, we, along with 300,000 plus others, sent in our submission opposing the Bill – and wait to hear whether the committee will have the decency to hear us.
Meanwhile, ACT has another Bill in the pipeline, which National has said it will support. That sets out more ACT-style principles that governments would have to follow when making laws, regulations and systems for doing so – of course, there is no reference to te Tiriti (or even to principles). Depending on how it is worded, that could even apply to international treaties and treaty making processes.
It would also mean foreign and local companies could sue the government in the domestic courts for taking steps that affect their private property rights, including mining companies and climate change, tobacco and alcohol, GE biotech companies, and much more. It’s a localised version of Clive Palmer and ISDS. The aim is to “chill” governments from taking steps that rich corporations don’t like by threatening them with long and costly court cases and potential multi-million damages. ACT wants this Bill introduced next month; officials say some time this year. So watch this space…
Posters of Te Tiriti and He Whakaputanga
Posters available at Waitangi and future events.
In response to popular demand, Ngā Toki Whakarururanga has reprinted posters on Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga that Kia Mohio Kia Marama created in the 1980s, with graphics by Moana Maniapoto and scripted by Rob Cooper from Ngāti Hine. They will be available at Waitangi and future events that we host or attend.
Come visit us at Waitangi
The flotilla of waka arrive at Waitangi on Waitangi Day 2024. Photographer: Jessica Tyson
The Wai 262 Taumata Whakapūmau are generously allowing Ngā Toki Whakarururanga to share their tent space on Te Tii at Waitangi this year. We will be around from February 3 to 6 so come visit us. We will have lots of new pānui on the GM Bill, climate change, investors suing over mining, digital, Treaty principles, constitutional kaupapa, and more. Several of our kaihautū and pūkenga will also be speaking on panels.