Govt backdown a victory for the people
Posted on September 3, 2012 by admin in Hone Harawira, Press Releases“About bloody time he realised how serious this is” said MANA Leader and Te
Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira after watching the Prime Minister’s very
formal, written delivery to the media this afternoon on the issue of Maori
water rights. “It’s a far cry from the disparaging comments he made about
the claim, the Council and the Tribunal a couple of months back”
“Government’s decision to delay the sale of state assets until at least
March 2013 is a back-down of massive proportions and a victory for all New
Zealanders, many of whom have been working furiously to get together the
numbers needed to force a referendum to stop asset sales”
“Even investment brokers are advising against this deal because of the lack
of clarity around water ownership rights and that plays into the hands of
the majority of New Zealanders who can see that the only people who will
benefit from the sale will be overseas investors profiting from electricity
price rises paid for by Kiwis”
“I’ve also worked very closely with the New Zealand Maori Council on this
issue since before they announced they were pursuing this claim and this is
a real victory for them too, particularly given the buffeting they took from
the Prime Minister and from some rather smug iwi leaders whose only idea of
Maori rights is how quickly they can get themselves on the right side of the
Prime Minister”
“Certainly iwi have a role in this” said Harawira. “The challenge is for iwi
leaders to ask the Prime Minister to allow Maori the time and space to
discuss the full implications of the Tribunals recommendation that Maori
have rights – ‘the closest equivalent of which, in the English sense, is
ownership’.”
“There needs to be a full and open consideration of the rights and
responsibilities that Maori have to water and the importance of water to the
nation as a whole” said Harawira “and that can’t be done in 5 weeks, nor
should it only include the PM and half a dozen selected individuals meeting
behind closed doors”
“The Prime Minister’s back-down is also a victory for the much-maligned
Treaty of Waitangi” said Harawira “and shows that the Treaty is the only
constitutional document we can rely on to safeguard our assets and our
future”
“This is not the time for hasty decisions or fast deals. Now is the time for
patience and for participation, and I urge all iwi leaders to lead the
engagement of their people in what is likely to be the biggest decision they
will ever make”
ENDS
For further information or for interviews please text Hone Harawira at 021
865 372
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