David Seymour: ACT Leader on Treaty Principles Bill introduction to Parliament brought forward more than a week

The Government has brought forward the introduction of the Treaty Principles Bill.

The legislation will be introduced to Parliament on Thursday, more than a week earlier than expected.

A planned country wide protest against the bill is still going ahead next week as planned, in which ahīkoiwill travel from the top of the North Island and from Bluff in the far south to arrive at Parliament in Wellington.

The Government is facing accusations that the change in schedule is to undermine the hīkoi.

David Seymour, the Minister responsible for the Bill, tells Heather du Plessis-Allan scheduled introductions to Parliament are changed often and the changes usually go unnoticed.

“Sometimes you get things done early, you go early.”

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right now. The government's planning to introduce the Treaty Principal's
Bill tomorrow. Now this is surprising because it is a
week and a half earlier than expected. Act Leader David
Seymour's with us on this right now. Hey, David, Hey,
you ever feels very much like you guys are doing
this while we're distracted by the US selection.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Is that?

Speaker 1 (00:14):
What's up?

Speaker 2 (00:17):
I tell you one thing about conspiracies and government. Here
are all sorts of things that we're supposedly up to, and
I think, man, I wish we were that organized.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Well, I hang on, is it because it already whins
as he was saying this morning that there was a
meeting yesterday in Parliament where you would all supposed to
discuss the business of the House and this was not
at all flagged as happening this week. Why was that?

Speaker 2 (00:36):
I guess it's probably Rawdy doesn't have a huge amount
of experience. In fact, he normally doesn't pay a lot
of respect to Parliament. I've been in that Business Committee
for six years and the Government doesn't always tell you everything.
So there's nothing unusual here. There's just people trying to
make mountains for molehos.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Okay, So why is it coming in earlier than we're expecting?

Speaker 2 (00:56):
I guess the question is why did you expect it
at a certain time. Actually, things change all the time.
The reason people expected it on a day is that
the White Tangy Tribunal demanded a date, which is very unusual,
so we gave them one, and as dates often do,
this one change. So really, this has going to be
the craziest mountain out of a mole hale ever, because

(01:19):
the reality is you're in parliament, it's chaos. Sometimes you
get things done early, you go early. Sometimes it takes longer,
you do it later. Normally no one noticed this because
you don't have witan E Tribunal demanding live updates on
every date and expectation, and you don't have Larward Eocity,
you know, pitching in with his reckons despite having with

(01:40):
the greatest respect to them, pretty limitted experience of parliament.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
David, what do you make the White Tongy Tribunal leaking
the information and elusing everyone that you're going to table
it tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Well it's pretty saddening, to be honest. I mean, ultimately,
in a country you need trust in your institutions and
you need people to act honorably, so they say, you
have to give us this information. It's your duty and
its respect and vomity and all of these other things.
And then we by our part and we find when
we give them information, within an hour we have the

(02:15):
media ringing up saying we have been told this, and
of course we expected it.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
So who did they tell because I thought that they
told lawyers. Did they tell lawyers who told the media,
or did they just go directly and tell the media.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Well, you'd know better than anyone whither. The journalists aren't
going to reveal their sources, so I guess that secret
dies with them.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
And when you told the White Pany Tribunal, did you
tell them on the understanding that they would retain that
information and not share it.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Look, I'm not sure, but you'd have to assume that
if somebody told you something, then it would be for
a certain purpose and it would be up to the
person who had the information to announce it publicly. In
any event, through their processes, the information got out within
an hour, whether it was them, whether it was lawyers
who were acting for applicants who are informed of details

(03:03):
of the case. It's not entirely clear. But one of
the results of them demanding the information and seeing it
get into the public demand so rapidly is that they're
actually are road trust institutions, including their own. That's a
bit saddening in a way.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
Now do you expect commity from them in the same
way that you would from a stock standard court.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Well that they're not a court. So often people say
you have to fully respect them. They're actually not a court.
They are a standing commission of inquiry that's been going
for forty eight years. I think it's just good to
treat people well wherever you can. I've always been someone
who believes in the basic respects and dignity for each individual.
That's why I'm opposed to the Treaty being cast as

(03:46):
a partnership, because when you say the treaty is a
partnership between races which the member of which group, your
group membership becomes more important than your basic human dignity.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
And just listen very quickly, are you guys planning to
reform them the tribunal? Have you actually got this cross
the line with the big guns in the NATS.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
I assume you said the big guns and the gnats.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
In the Gnats the top dogs in the NATS.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Well, you know, for the very Democratic party. Look, you've
got to remember that that's not an act policy, that's
the New Zealand First policy. But I mean, all i'd
say is that, you know, it's something that that supports,
as we support all of the different policies that we've
signed up to through coalition. And I frankly think it's
a really sad time because the Waits Only Tribunal and

(04:37):
the treaty settlement process have been enormously positive. I think
it's a point of pride for the New Zealand. In fact,
I don't think many countries would have gone through the
kind of civilized process of reconciliation that New Zealand has
in the last thirty years or so with treaty settlements. However,
they've now become so politicized that I think they've actually
diminished their own manner and that will only lend stream

(05:00):
to the arm of those in government who would like
to see them substantially reformed.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
Quite right, Hey, David, thanks very much, appreciate it. David
seymour X part of Leader. We'll come back to this
later on in the program too. For more from hither
Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to news talks it'd be
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