95bFM Academic criticises misinterpretation of Te Tiriti
20 April, 2023
Interview by Spike Keith, adapted by David Liwei Shi
Professor of Māori Studies Margaret Mutu says the Māori concept of tino rangatiratanga only applies to the people of this country at the time Te Tiriti was written. Photo: University of Auckland.
Southland National MP Joseph Mooney is facing scrutiny for his misinterpretation of tino rangatiratanga, the principle of Māori sovereignty and self-determination under article two of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Mooney, who is the party’s treaty spokesperson, tweeted that the principle applies to everyone in Aotearoa.
Professor of Māori Studies Margaret Mutu told Spike Keith on 95bFM’s The Wire that Mooney’s interpretation was too “literal”, and tino rangatiratanga only applies to Māori.
“If you translate the Māori literally, it means that it guarantees the tino rangatiratanga of all the Hapu and all the people of New Zealand.”
In the Māori text of Te Tiriti, which is legally recognised by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as having precedence over the English text, Māori ensured they would retain Tino Rangatiratanga over whenua, kāinga, and taonga.
Mutu highlighted that tino rangatiratanga only applies to the people of this country at the time Te Tiriti was written.
“It was written in 1840 when the number of Māori here was in the hundreds and thousands, and you had at most two thousand Pakeha” — most of which Mutu said were “adventurers or tourists.”
“He has chosen to put it in a current day context, which was not the situation in 1840.”
Mutu said the intent to redefine Te Tiriti originally started with British colonisers signing Te Tiriti to uphold the “Doctrine of Discovery”.
“The Doctrine of Discovery allowed white Christians to go into the countries of non-white, non-Christians to invade, enslave, or exterminate those people.”
“It was an authorised statement of the Vatican, made in the 1500s and is still upheld to this day.”
Mutu cautioned that “it is not just the National Party”, but that “all governments are the same” and base Treaty claims settlements on the Doctrine of Discovery.
“New Zealand is a member of the United Nations And is bound by the conventions. However, it keeps trying to slide out of those obligations to keep hold of the Doctrine of Discovery and the outlawed ‘white New Zealand’ policy.”
Misinterpretations of Te Tiriti could harm discussions around de-colonisation and uphold white supremacy, Mutu believed.
“There are far too many people who can see the damage white supremacy has done to their own country and other countries as well.”
“The world will not tolerate such inequality and unjust behaviour.”
