Hon Georgina te Heuheu National Party Associate Treaty of Waitangi Issues Spokeswoman
9 December 2005
Principles dilemma awaits Peters
An interesting dilemma awaits Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters when he has time to sit down with his officials
and work on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Statement of Intent for the coming year, says National's
Associate Treaty of Waitangi Issues spokeswoman, Georgina te Heuheu.
"I will be looking forward to seeing whether the Minister signs off on a statement similar to that which guided the
Ministry's work last year, when in setting out its key goals it made reference to '...upholding the principles of the
Treaty of Waitangi'."
Mrs te Heuheu questioned MFAT officials yesterday at the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade select committee about the
statement in their annual report.
The officials indicated they were yet to confirm with the Minister whether a similar objective would remain.
"If Mr Peters does sign off a similar statement, National will be seeking clarification from him of what the meaning
is," says Mrs te Heuheu.
"For the past three years, the Minister has been quizzing Government Ministers on the meaning of the 'principles of the
Treat of Waitangi', presumably in order to enhance his own understanding of them and to gauge their relevance in public
sector activities.
"Now, as a Minister, he is going to have to explain them himself.
"I await with interest to see which side of the fence Mr Peters sits on, given that he appears to have struggled with
the relevance of the 'principles' statement for the past three years," says Mrs te Heuheu.
ENDS