“Asked point blank by Jack Tame on Q+A this morning “is co-governance democratic?” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins couldn’t say that it was. ACT is clear in its position that having different political rights based on ancestry is anti-democratic,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“When Jacinda Ardern was asked a similar question on the same show last year, she said it was “overly simplistic”. Today Hipkins also fudged his answer and said “you’re kinda dealing with a hypothetical.” The idea that one person should have one vote, and every human being is born alike in dignity isn’t one that should be so difficult to answer for anyone who believes in a functioning liberal democracy.

“The problem is that Labour operates on an assumption that there should be two sets of political rights based on birth, but when they stop to think about it they realise there is no democratic basis for such a concept.

“Co-governance is now everywhere but it has never been openly discussed or debated. Nobody in Government has ever asked whether we want it.

“This is why New Zealanders deserve a coherent and rational debate about the Treaty and Democracy. They are not getting it, largely because people who question co-government are often accused of racism. ACT has set out three steps that a future Government might take to step New Zealand back from the divisiveness of co-government, and promote New Zealand as a modern, multi-ethnic, liberal democracy.

1. Interpreting the Treaty properly by passing a Treaty Principles Act through Parliament and putting it to referendum for confirmation by the people.
2. Reversing race based policies, such as three waters legislation, a Māori Health authority, and Resource Management law that requires consultation based on race
3. Reorienting the public service to target need based on robust data instead of lazy race based targeting

“Labour is selling a falsehood. We are told that if we want to honour the spirit of the Treaty, amend for past breaches of the Treaty, preserve and embrace Māori language and culture, and address present day inequities between Māori and non-Māori, then we have to embrace constitutional change that is incompatible with liberal democracy.

“ACT will fight for democracy; it will be a key campaign platform for us and an important part of any coalition negotiations. ACT is serious with practical initiatives we can implement in Government.”

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