Tom O'Connor: That Bill

If opponents to the Treaty of Waitangi Principles bill would take the time to read it they would see that it is no more than the principles of law which have applied in New Zealand since 1841 and in England since the Magna Carta of 1215. They are not new.

I don’t know if the bill – as currently written – is the right solution to the uncertainty created by the application of undefined principles of the treaty, but the status quo is clearly untenable in the long term.

We can read whatever we like between the lines but reading the actual lines will be less confusing.

Whatever we feel about the bill it should have been an opportunity for a civilised discussion instead of a catalyst for hatred, political grandstanding and division.

The antics of some in Parliament will serve only to alienate more and more people from genuine Maori aspirations.

As a nation we are better than that.

Tom O’Connor is a published historian, elected Waimate District councillor, retired journalist and former political commentator for Stuff. This article was first published HERE