by Mike Bain, The Daily Examiner,
Following months of controversy, record-breaking public submissions, a series of massive opposition rallies across the country, and even rejection by ACT leader David Seymour’s own coalition partners, the bill’s progress ended.
Parliament voted 112 from across the political spectrum, to 11 from ACT.
The session saw every other party in the House taking swings at ACT and Seymour – from some light cuffing by National and NZ First, to all-out assaults from Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori.
In the face of an already-doomed effort to keep the bill alive, Seymour said opponents had signed up to “fundamentally undemocratic propositions”.
Seymour and his ACT Party may be disappointed the failure of the Treaty Principles Bill to progress, but they are not defeated.
“ACT was the only party with the courage to defend equal rights in Parliament by voting for the Treaty Principles Bill at its second reading,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“Is New Zealand a tribal society where your rights depend on your ancestry, or a liberal democracy where everyone has the same rights?
“That question isn’t going away. It will only be answered when Parliament decides to fill a decades-long void and define the principles of the Treaty so that New Zealanders are equal before the law.
“New Zealanders have told us loud and clear they are ready for this conversation, but their representatives are not.
“Parliament had an opportunity to push back against the courts and the bureaucracy, and define what the Treaty means itself, but New Zealanders have been let down by their political leaders.
“A vocal minority of New Zealanders have revealed themselves to not just be comfortable with unequal rights, but to be demanding of them. While they’ve scrambled to make submissions against the bill, numbers are no substitute for logic.
“Polling shows a plurality, and even a majority, of New Zealanders support the Treaty Principles Bill. But even if only a tiny minority supported equal rights, it would still be the right policy.
“Not a single submission has made the case for why ranking New Zealanders by their date of arrival will make the future better.
“ACT has shown how New Zealand can be a society where people are equal in rights, respect and dignity, no matter their ancestry.
“The logic of equal rights is irresistible. Even if it is not a reality today, it will be eventually. And ACT will be working tirelessly to make sure that day comes sooner rather than later.”
