In what ways is the Treaty of Waitangi of significance to New Zealanders today?
1) Social Significance
Waitangi Day protests at Waitangi have been an intermittent but significant feature of treaty commemorations since the 1970s. The above video from TVNZ's Breakfast Show shows some of the more significant incidents, including a T-shirt thrown at Queen Elizabeth in 1990, Prime Minister Helen Clark's confrontation with Titewhai Harawira in 1998 and National Party leader Don Brash having mud thrown at him in 2004.
This poster from about the late 1970s expresses the frustration and impatience of the Māori land-rights movement in that period. In the first years after its formation in 1975, the Waitangi Tribunal was relatively ineffective at addressing long-standing Māori grievances. Many younger radicals argued that the Treaty of Waitangi was a fraudulent document and that Māori had never surrendered their sovereignty to the Crown.
Waitangi Day protests at Waitangi have been an intermittent but significant feature of treaty commemorations since the 1970s. The above video from TVNZ's Breakfast Show shows some of the more significant incidents, including a T-shirt thrown at Queen Elizabeth in 1990, Prime Minister Helen Clark's confrontation with Titewhai Harawira in 1998 and National Party leader Don Brash having mud thrown at him in 2004.
This poster from about the late 1970s expresses the frustration and impatience of the Māori land-rights movement in that period. In the first years after its formation in 1975, the Waitangi Tribunal was relatively ineffective at addressing long-standing Māori grievances. Many younger radicals argued that the Treaty of Waitangi was a fraudulent document and that Māori had never surrendered their sovereignty to the Crown.
2) Legal Significance
The status of the Treaty has evolved over time. Unlike many other countries, New Zealand does not have a constitution in the form of a single document. It has a collection of common laws, customs and legislation that establish the framework of government. The Treaty was the initial agreement that established British authority. This authority was later transferred to the New Zealand Parliament. Māori leaders and people have stressed the Treaty’s importance ever since. In recent history, successive governments have recognised the significance of the Treaty in the life of the nation.
The status of the Treaty has evolved over time. Unlike many other countries, New Zealand does not have a constitution in the form of a single document. It has a collection of common laws, customs and legislation that establish the framework of government. The Treaty was the initial agreement that established British authority. This authority was later transferred to the New Zealand Parliament. Māori leaders and people have stressed the Treaty’s importance ever since. In recent history, successive governments have recognised the significance of the Treaty in the life of the nation.
In a 2010 interview Prime Minister John Key voiced a growing opinion that New Zealand is developing processes for moving on with Treaty settlements, stating in the Sunday Star Times that "I think it would be a betrayal of Kiwis' basic sense of decency to forget the past and the legitimate causes of Iwi. But at the same time I am determined that New Zealand will not become stuck in that past." In 2013 the Otago Daily Times reported that the Government's goal of finally settling all Treaty claims is receiving broad cross-party support. "It appears that negotiating historical claims comprehensively, finally and quickly has seen significant success." The article goes on to explain how "it appears that everyone, including most Maori and politicians, want the job completed, fast".