How the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill played out
And why one former MP says John Key would never have allowed this to happen.
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Friday, November 15.
In today’s edition: Christopher Luxon has secured face time with one of the world’s most powerful leaders at Apec, more options for paying for Auckland’s public transport network, and why it could have cost Health NZ to stop offering staff Milo. But first: in one of the most dramatic days in parliament’s history, the Treaty Principles Bill has passed its first reading.
A huge day in the House
Before heading off for the comfortable confines of Apec in Peru, far away from any debate over Treaty Principles, prime minister Christopher Luxon fired one last shot at the bill his own government has just taken to select committee. "You do not go negate, with a single stroke of a pen, 184 years of debate and discussion, with a bill that I think is very simplistic,” the prime minister said, reported RNZ’s Craig McCulloch.
It may never make it into law (at least in this term of office), but it’s hard to deny the impact that Act’s Treaty Principles Bill has had over the past 12 months. Much of it, noted Newsroom’s Laura Walters, leading to a palpable feeling of division in the debating chamber and beyond. All of that came to a head with its first reading last night. The Spinoff’s Liam Rātana was, like many, watching the debate. As he noted, there were half a dozen attempts by Te Pāti Māori members to scupper the bill by raising points of order.
All were dismissed by the speaker, though the debate was later derailed – temporarily – by a remarkable haka led by the party, and followed by spectators in the public gallery and members of the Green Party. The Post’s Robert Kitchin, as always, masterfully captured the event in pictures.
‘See you next Tuesday’
Speaking of the haka, it prompted a staunch shut down from speaker of the house Gerry Brownlee who at times lost control of the debate. Proceedings in the house were paused after Brownlee ordered the packed public gallery be evacuated, which ThreeNews’ Jenna Lynch believed was the first time since the 1970s since such action was taken. For her role in leading the protest – which was seemingly known in advance to all but Brownlee – parliament’s youngest MP, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, was formally “named” and suspended from the House for 24 hours.
The Herald’s Claire Trevett (paywalled) argued Te Pāti Māori won’t give “two hoots” about the punishment, nor will Labour’s Willie Jackson who was ejected from the debate for refusing to apologise for calling David Seymour a “liar”. That language is unparliamentary, while other remarks – including Rawiri Waititi’s comparison of Seymour to the KKK – went unpunished. Waititi concluded his speech by telling the Act leader: “See you next Tuesday”. Possibly a reference to the impending arrival of a nationwide hīkoi to parliament, and possibly, well, something less savoury.
Key would never have let this happen
Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Ryan Bridge this morning, former attorney-general Chris Finlayson said National had moved away from its past traditions in allowing the bill to make it this far, which disappointed him. The next six months – when the bill faces public scrutiny in select committee – will be a disaster, he added. “You’re going to get the crazies on the right and the crazies on the left coming in, you’ll get some sensible submissions but it’s not going to be a particular pleasant experience,” he said.
While criticising those who disrupted the parliament yesterday, Finlayson said that David Seymour should have realised there would be high emotions and it wouldn’t just be “sort of a nice polite little seminar”. But the former high profile MP directed his strongest critique for the prime minister, suggesting that his mentor Sir John Key would never have allowed this debate to happen. “I think Key would have said to Seymour, ‘you’re not getting it’. Call his bluff. And if Seymour had had a tantrum and said, ‘we'll I’ll go to to the crossbenches’, I know what Key would have said: ‘Yeah, fine, do that and I’ll stand against you personally in Epsom at the next election, I’ll destroy you’.” (Key has previously expressed disapproval over the bill, such as in this interview with Mike Hosking).
In an interview with RNZ, Finlayson said that he believed the government’s actions will wind back positive progress made on race relations. "We were on such a good path in a bipartisan way, over many years we've been working toward trying to undo the burdens of the past so that we could move to the future together as one, and a lot of that's being undone now.”
Vote followed party lines (as expected)
Ultimately, the vote on the bill went precisely as anticipated: Act’s caucus unanimously backed it, as did – somewhat begrudgingly – both National and New Zealand First. All opposition MPs opposed it. Earlier in the week, Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick called for the prime minister to allow a conscience vote on the issue – an attempt to moralise the debate and stop the government parties voting as unified blocs. “It’s time for the 123 members of this parliament to take personal, individual responsibility for whether the Treaty Principles Bill nonsense goes any further,” said Swarbrick. As noted by Toby Manhire on this week’s episode of Gone by Lunchtime, it wouldn’t be uncommon in some jurisdictions to see an MP “cross the House” during a heated debate such as this and vote alongside another party. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t occur.
Before jetting off to Peru, reported Jenna Lynch for Stuff, the prime minister shut down any suggestion he would allow his MPs to vote on the bill as a conscience issue. “We have a united view, which we just don't think this is the right way forward.”
Support longform journalism in New Zealand at The Spinoff
Joel MacManus’s investigation into the urgent race to solve homelessness in Aotearoa is the kind of vital journalism that is impossible without funding from Spinoff members and donors. If it matters to you and you are able to, please donate or become a member today.
Luxon locks in key meeting at Apec
Meanwhile, in Peru… Christopher Luxon has secured face time with one of the world’s most powerful leaders, Newstalk ZB’s Jason Walls reported. The prime minister will meet with China’s president Xi Jinping at the Apec conference, and is hoping to lock in time with outgoing US president Joe Biden. That meeting would be a “more informal pull-aside”, said Luxon. The prime minister will only be on the ground for about a day-and-a-half – a whirlwind trip that, as noted above, nicely takes him out of the country while the Treaty Principles Bill is debated here. But it’s also his first time attending Apec and Luxon said he will use his time abroad “efficiently” because “that’s just how I roll”.
He added: “We want to jam in as much as we can and make [the days] as full as possible.”
Other leaders set to attend include close friends Anthony Albanese of Australia and Justin Trudeau of Canada.
A new era for Auckland’s public transport network
Aucklanders will soon be able to contactlessly pay for public transport with their credit or debit cards, along with smartphones and smart watches. As Stuff’s Sam Smith reported, the new system will be switched on this coming Sunday, with Auckland Transport saying it will open up public transport to more people. At the moment, a physical Hop Card is required for most trips. AT said it was important that people when tagging on and off public transport used the same card and device so that the correct fee was charged.
As noted by RNZ’s Maia Ingoe, it’s the first step towards a new national ticketing solution that will simplify how people pay for public transport across the country. That’s expected to start rolling out next year, but won’t make it to Auckland until 2026 in time for the City Rail Link to open.
Listen: Behind Porirua’s poverty
For decades, Pat Hanley has been a tireless advocate for the rights of beneficiaries, drawing attention to the persistent challenges they face. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, he sits down with Bernard Hickey to unpack the deep-rooted causes of poverty in Porirua. Hanley argues that both the underlying issues and society’s approach to addressing poverty demand a comprehensive overhaul, calling for transformative change to create a fairer, more supportive social landscape.
Listen below or wherever you find your podcasts.
Click and Collect
Public servants “exhausted” after job cuts, but more redundancies are to come.
One NZ learns the hard way, writes Newsroom’s Jonathan Milne: don’t rely on Elon Musk.
NZME proposes to close 14 community papers, 30 jobs to be cut.
Oops: Christopher Luxon makes a maths slip up in podcast with an eight-year-old interviewer.
Health New Zealand's bid to remove Milo from staff rooms could have ended up costing it millions of dollars, according to one doctors' union.
For BusinessDesk subscribers, why Christchurch’s new stadium – set to open in 2026 – will be a big boost for the live entertainment industry. (paywalled)
This isn’t a joke: satirical outlet The Onion has bought conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s Infowars at auction. Really.
To celebrate Christchurch Anniversary Day, Joseph Harper ranks every mall in the “garden city”. The climate and human rights crises are indelibly intertwined, writes senior politics and international relations lecturer Maria Armoudian. Alex Casey reviews Crowded House in the south, and Mad Chapman reviews Coldplay in the north. In light of Gloriavale’s reluctant acceptance of Winnie-the-Pooh, Claire Mabey argues in favour of the wider canon of anthropomorphic animal literature. And Toby Manhire makes the case that Donald Trump should cut New Zealand a break in the tariff torrent.
That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading and see you back here on Monday.
Want to get in touch? Join the conversation in the Substack comments section below or via email at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz if you have any feedback on today’s top stories (or anything else in the news).
If you liked what you read today, share The Bulletin with friends, family and colleagues.
The PM is weak. National as a party is weakened. Race relations at an all time low. I'm so ashamed of that bill going through. Regression is a thing. National has handed the reins of control to its wagging tail.
The youngest MP in the house, Hana Maipi-Clarke's actions? Loved it. What a pity about the so called more experienced MPs in the coaltion of crap. Māori will not be sidelined. Toitu Te Tiriti. Mauri Ora!
I've been emailing my local MPs telling them that I'm very much against this bill, and that if it passes in any shape or form that they'll have made an enemy who will be doing everything legally possible to reduce their chances of re election.