Christopher Luxon and the National Government must keep their promise to withdraw their support of this abhorrent and divisive Bill after the First Reading.

Better yet, if they wish to show rangatahi what real leadership looks like, this Bill wouldn't be introduced in the first place.

“Chrisopher Luxon must show New Zealanders what true leadership looks like and stop this Bill from getting passed by Cabinet next week.” says President, Ethan Reille.

“ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill is based on a shameless misinterpretation of Te Tiriti and is a slap in the face to te iwi Māori. It disrespects our elders, past and present, who have fought for our people for decades, and shamefully stomps on the rights of our rangatahi and the future generations of Aotearoa,” says Māori Vice President, Mukai Duder.

“This Bill purposefully betrays the partnership laid down in Te Tiriti ō Waitangi and undermines the unity of our nation. It's like the coalition is actively trying to pour salt in the wounds of Māori.”

“If the ACT Party was genuinely concerned about upholding equal rights of all New Zealanders then they would be willing to push for systematic change. Māori have faced intergenerational oppression and unjust inequities for decades; re-writing history will not solve the inequities many face in the health, education and justice system.” says President, Ethan Reille.

To echo the words of many across Aotearoa, if this Bill were to pass, there will be hikoi like we have never seen before. Young Labour will unreservedly play our part to tautoko this fierce opposition. We will do everything in our power to stop this Bill from passing.

We know from watching the 2023 Election the kind of hate and rhetoric that the ACT Party and New Zealand First are more than happy to push, and somehow despite only receiving 9% of the votes from across Aotearoa, the National Government and Christopher Luxon seem happy to let them slide it through without so much as a peep about it’s divisiveness.

National Party Members of Parliament must choose whether they want to be on the right side of history or not. We will continue to remind this Government that rangatahi will not give into their empty words and false hope. This Bill has no place in Aotearoa and they have no mandate to deliver it.

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