King Charles UK
New Zealand opposition parties back Māori plea to King Charles
Opposition politicians said the letter was a necessary ‘extreme step’, with Māori rights under almost weekly attack from the government
New Zealand’s opposition parties have thrown their support behind a letter appealing to King Charles III to intervene in New Zealand’s politics amid tensions over the government’s policies for Māori.
The Guardian on Wednesday revealed the National Iwi Chairs forum – a collective of more than 80 tribal leaders – had written a letter to the king, asking him “to ensure that the [New Zealand] government does not diminish the crown’s honour” over what they consider ongoing breaches of the crown’s promises made to Māori in the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document.
“It just shows you how serious the situation here is, because you have … Māori under attack almost weekly from this government,” said Labour Party MP Willie Jackson, adding the letter was powerful even if King Charles does not respond.
“Its embarrassing for this government,” he said, “Having Māori leadership going to the king to say how unreasonable this government has been.”
Te Pāti Māori (the Māori party) co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said iwi (tribes) have long tried to be diplomatic but now the situation was “so serious it was compromising the integrity of the crown”.
To write a letter to the king was an “extreme step” and shouldn’t be taken lightly, she said.
“This high-level appeal is exactly where the discussions should be happening and while the king may not choose to get into politics, to threaten the [treaty] is way outside of the political realm.”
Since taking office last year, New Zealand’s rightwing coalition government’s policy direction has sparked the biggest ever protest over Māori rights, mass meetings of Māori leaders and condemnation from the Waitangi Tribunal, an institution that investigates breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty is an agreement signed in 1840 between more than 500 Māori chiefs and the British crown and is instrumental in upholding Māori rights.
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