David Seymour: Act Party leader on hikoi heading to Parliament

Tens of thousands of people are expected to join a nine-day hīkoi, which has left from Cape Reinga bound for Parliament. 

It will follow the route taken by Dame Whina Cooper in the 1975 Māori land march. 

The Act Party leader says he hasn't got any extra security, and doesn't think he will need it. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Is this the foreshore and CBD two point zero a
Hekoi is a national hikoy is getting underway this morning.
It's starting at the portzaheim Ata in the far North.
It's going to arrive Parliament Grounds nineteenth of November. It
will come through Auckland. It's expected to close the harbor Bridge.
They're protesting against David Seymour and the ACT Parties, well
the Coalition Government's Treaty Principal's Bill, but also things like Gaza,

(00:22):
the ACT leader and author of the Treaty Principles Bill's
David Seymour, good morning, good morning, Good to have you
on the show. Are actually I was wondering about your security.
Are you going to have DPS this week or over
the coming weeks or have you been given extra protection
or anything like that.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
No, no, I haven't done anything like that. Every expectation
is that this is a peaceful protest.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
And are you confident that the debate is going to
be peaceful and is actually going to get us somewhere
as a country.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes, I am. And it's important not to mix up
the debates with a few loud voices on the fringe
of it. I saw in the newspaper this morning that
one of the protest organizers says the protesting against the
government's continued assault on tongue of Fenua, and he compared

(01:17):
himself with hone. Heck, I think we've got to get
a reality check here. It's not eighteen sixty. The government
has been elected and introduced a series of policies that
can be summed up as equal rights for law and
improving public services for people based on need rather than

(01:38):
their ethnic background. That is hardly an assault on tongue
of Fenua. So we do need to be a bit
realistic about it, and voices around the fringe of it
that I think are out here.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Let's talk about let's talk about the substance of the building.
What's to stop let's say, by miracle and it gets
past its first reading, you actually get this into law.
What's to stop labor changing the principles that you've put
in there.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Well, first of all, it won't be America. I think
it will change eventually, even if the bill does not
pass this time. Once that basic idea that the government
has the right to govern, that the crown has an
equal right duty to protect all people's rights, and that
we all have the same rights and duties in an

(02:24):
equal before the law. I mean, that's all the bill says. Remember,
I think once that idea is in place, it will
become universal and it won't become changed.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
So this is not about This is not about getting
a bill through. This is about introducing a set of
ideas into the public sphere.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
For you, Well, it's both. I just make the point
that some people say, well, you know, why are you
doing it if other parties say it may not pass?
And I just make the point that in order to
get important ideas up sometimes it takes multiple attempts.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
You're looking, well, let's let's be optimistic, so it will pass.
What's to stop were just changing it?

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Well, you can make that argument about any idea that
any government introduces. We have a system in New Zealand
where no government can find a future parliament. That's true.
But I just make the point that what's in the
bill that Parliament has the right to make laws and
the government has the right to govern. Yeah, that the
Crown has an equal right to obligation to protect all

(03:25):
people's rights, including marii, and that we all have tikkat
taki or the same rights and duties. Well, they could
change that, but I believe after it's properly debated and
people who have looked at what the bill actually says,
including those who made up their mind before it was
even published, hard to oppose, so it.

Speaker 1 (03:46):
Can be changed later. Winston Peters is just in New Zealand. First,
they just want to delete references to the treaty altogether.
I mean, would that not be a better way of
going about it. I mean if they get if they
start doing that, there's no references to the treaty principles
and they just then what exactly are your defining principles
going to apply to?

Speaker 2 (04:05):
Two things about that. The government's review of the Treaty
principles and law that is part of New Zealand First
Coalition Agreement is being done, but at exempts at least
five pieces of legislation, including the Treaty of Whytognak, the
State and Enterprises Act and the Public Finance Act. So

(04:26):
some of the most core pieces of legislation, particularly the
Treaty of White Togiak, are not being reviewed to have
the Treaty principles removed. And second of all, actually the
review is not about removing limits about reviewing whether they're appropriate.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
So I take your point that there are some exceptions,
well a number of quite important exceptions to that, David Seaman,
we have to leave it there, the Act Party leader.
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