An Appeal to Preserve the Integrity of Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Wesleyan Missionaries and Rangatira were to the forefront in 1840 promoting Te Tiriti and advocating the benefits that it would give to both Māori and migrants from Britain seeking to settle in Aotearoa.

We, the successors of those Wesleyan Missionaries and Rangatira, are gravely concerned at the ACT Party’s intention to introduce to Parliament a “Treaty Principles Bill.” We believe this proposed Bill is an assault on the integrity of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

We cannot in good conscience remain silent. As leaders within Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa - The Methodist Church of New Zealand we acknowledge that at Mangungu on the 12th of February 1840, Rev. John Hobbs, the senior Wesleyan Missionary, acted as Governor Hobson’s interpreter throughout the day. He translated Hobson’s “most solemn assurance” that if the chiefs signed Te Tiriti, “truth and justice would always characterise the proceedings of the Queen’s Government.”

The 56 Rangatira who signed Te Tiriti on that day, did so only after seeking the opinion of the Wesleyan Missionaries, and being told by them that Te Tiriti would be good for Māori.

We note with regret the many instances when the Crown has acted in breach of the provisions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The many Treaty claims endorsed by the Waitangi Tribunal, and accepted by successive Governments, is ample evidence of how the intentions of Te Tiriti have been dishonoured.

We call upon the Coalition Government to preserve the integrity of Te Tiriti, so that what it promised in 1840 can be realised today and in the future.