Sir John Key: former Prime Minister voices disapproval with the Government's Treaty Principles Bill

Sir John Key says he doesn't support the Government's controversial Treaty Principles Bill.

It comes after calls from the former Prime Minster for the temperature to be turned down on race relations.

The bill, championed by ACT, seeks to formally define the principals of the Treaty of Waitangi, but has been met with strong opposition.

Key says not only has the bill 'wound people up' but he also thinks it wouldn't work.

"I actually think philosophically it's bad policy. I'll tell you why I think it's bad - if you write down the principles, if you think they're going to stay like that, you're a dreamer."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Along with the mass reset for the National Party. Their
AGM featured to John Key special guest. His call was
for the temperature to drop a little bit around race relation.
Karen Chaw's treatment last week from the Marry Party was
a bridge too far for many, of course. So John
Key is with us. Very good morning morning, Mike. So
you call over the weekend for the political temperature to
come down a bit, how much do you reckon this
political debate is about specific aspects of race relations in

(00:22):
this country versus a general angst because the country's on
it's needs economically.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
A little bit of both. I mean, you know, notwith
seeing that the mood at the conference was really positive
because we've won a general election, got new prime minister
and all that sort of stuff. Everyone recognizes how big
the economic turnaround job is. I mean it is literally massive.
And I think if you walk around most parts of
New Zealand, particularly Auckland, you well just feel how dire

(00:51):
the economy is at the moment costs a lot of sectors.
So I think this general angst and I think with
race relations, you know, there's aways people who think like
we are either leaning in of it too much or
leaning out of it too much, sort of get all that.
My basic point was really lock we just have to
be a little bit careful of those things. In my
advice on all sides, not particularly one side, is take

(01:12):
the temperature down or with it, because you know, when
you have your budget day and it's dominated by a
race protest, or when you have your opening of Parliament,
that's the case. That's one side, But then you're at
the ear leaders walking out of meetings with the Prime
Minister on the other. And then I think things like
the Treaty Principal's Bill that's really you know, wound people up.
I actually don't support that legislation for some pretty good reasons,

(01:34):
I think. So there's just a lot of stuff, but
I just think just be careful because you know, for
the most part, we've actually done race relations pretty well
in this country.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
If you lead from top down, how much then of
your comments is based on policy like Seymour's bill, the
attitude to the Whiteangi Tribunal, the overturning of court state,
et cetera. All of that. How much of it's policy
driven versus just general debate?

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Oh, a bit of both. I think. Look the things
like the Treaty Principles bill does wind up a lot
of people. And I actually think philosophically, and I come
from a place where I really like David Seymour. I
think it's bad Pulsey. I'll tell you why. I think
it's a bad act. If you write down the principles right,
they might be fitting proper today. I might even agree

(02:20):
with them. Right, let's put that to one side. If
you think they're going to stay like that, you're a dreamer.
They're going to change, and they may change in the
direction you really don't like when the new government comes along.
And as you see in places like the United States,
where you know they wrote down the constitution that said
the right to bear arms worked really well. By the way,
when you know you had a musket and the grizzly

(02:42):
beer walking into into kebinet two in the morning doesn't
work well when a person feels they can legitimately take
an AK forty seven down to Walmart of Costco. So
codifying these things isn't that smart. So I think that's
certainly wound a lot of people up. And rightfully, I
think you know, proms reslectance, So we're not going to
support that beyond the second reading, but there just is

(03:05):
quite a high temperature all these things at the moment.
My only point is that for the most part, race
relations have been pretty good in New zund Sometimes, you know,
the government of the days push too hard. Maybe sometimes
there haven't done quite enough, but just making sure we
sort of let this thing get out of control is
important because for the most part, you know, we kind
of like, you know that the society we live and

(03:27):
we get on with our mates. You know, it's not
as dire as what some people were saying. But I
just feel like the temperature is too high.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Chris Hoipkins, while I've got you, by the way, blames
Tomorrow Schools that the whole Maths turn around that was
announced yesterday as well. He blames essentially you because it
was Tomorrow's schools. Tomorrow Schools failed and that's why we're
failing the maths. You say, what, Yeah, okay, Well, are
a school was in the nineties before I got the Parla.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
It's a quite a long way back. And look, if
that was the case and it was so obvious, they
would have fixed it and they didn't. Look, reality, is
I reckon part of what they'll be driving. This is
the enormous truancy rates that happened under the previous labor government.
But also Labor have never liked what we wanted to do,
which was National Senates, which was measure, monitor and report

(04:14):
on children. They want to measure, monitor and report the environment.
They just never want to know whether you know your
seven year old could actually do mess at the what
we would deem to be the average standard for a
seven year old. And therefore if you don't know, you
can't fix it. So again a massive job because if
you can't, if kids can't leave school now and they

(04:36):
can't do mess at a half decent level, and a
huge number of the teachers who are teaching them don't
have the proper test qualification, I can't do basically, I
think it's school certain mess. Then there's a real problem,
isn't there? And you know I would worry enormously about
the future workforce if that's the case.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
All right, I appreciate your times to John Key with
us this morning. For more from the Mic Hosking Breakfast,
listen live to News Talks at b from six am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.