Clive Bibby: The Nation Building Conundrum

I make no claims to being even a knowledgeable local historian and certainly not a commentator in the same league as Professor Paul Moon who is renowned for his abilities as a fact checker at a time when our national sovereignty is under threat from radical, separatist academics who have a passion for making things up.

And surprise, surprise - most of these guys are not all dissident Maori activists.

Their ranks include some of our most senior judges and leading politicians.

No! I am just a simple, forcibly retired, ex farmer observer who has spent a lifetime living and working amongst those who claim whakapapa lineage with ancestors who peacefully engaged with Cook at Uawa (Tolaga Bay) in 1769 and again on his subsequent return voyages to New Zealand a couple of years later.

What I have learned from listening to local Kaumatua explaining their “handed down” accounts of what actually happened and reading from the alternative versions in Cook’s logs is that the current dismissal of Cook’s visits as the basis for our multi-cultural nation building is something we ignore at our peril.

Consequently, I am in total support of the Act Party’s election manifesto commitment to abolish the Waitangi Tribunal after the final treaty settlement has been signed.

Because unfortunately the Tribunal - originally established to aid the Crown in the settlement process and advocate on behalf of the claimants, helping them establish a case for compensation that fairly reflected an entitlement due to Crown breaches of the Treaty - has outgrown its usefulness and is no longer being used in a manner that is in keeping with its original establishment.

It has become a mouthpiece for radical separatists who want to see the court used as a continuation of the never ending, grievance industry, compensation process that has grown a life of its own.

Let’s be clear - that comment is not meant to be a slur on the judgements that have been made or the amounts of compensation that have been paid since the tribunal began its work. For most of the time since its inauguration, it has assisted in ensuring that the justifiable grievances did not erupt into violence on the streets. Surely helping avoid that possibility is one of Tribunal’s greatest achievements.

But none of this discussion will help to solve the conundrum that exists surrounding the need to establish what part the Treaty should play in the formation of legislation that comes before the House in the future.

Should it be seen as the founding document of our multi-cultural society with “add on, made up principles” enabling interpretations that encourage dissident activity - or simply as a historical relic of a bygone era.

My guess is that most citizens would like it to remain as a founding document upon which much of our law is based but not something that should be used to provide an interpretation that has no basis in truth.

It is a unique document that was instrumental in solving a major problem associated with 1840’s nation building but it was not designed to accommodate the nuances associated with different social and racial tends of the 21st century.

And here’s the thing!

You can’t expect a functioning multi-cultural society to succeed simply because an agreement drafted soon after the first bunch of new immigrants arrived provided a format for survival at least until something better is put in its place. In the meantime, you have to hope that all ethnic groups share a common desire to abide by common law and that any nation building will be dependent on everybody accepting the laws governing an integrated society.

And so far our nation’s history shows why we are regarded as being amongst the best examples of how it can work.

But in the end, success has little to do with rules and regulations - you can’t legislate cooperation if the desire is not there in the first place and constructive nation building will remain a utopian dream in spite of government edicts requiring that it happen if the vast majority of all ethnic groups refuses to accept their individual responsibility to make it happen.

We must use the coming election as perhaps the last opportunity to safeguard our society from the radical elements within who appear hell bent on creating an environment where only the elite and the privileged survive.

Make sure your choices at the ballot box ensure the sacrifices of our forebears are not wasted on the adoption of false doctrines and separatist indoctrination.

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who now lives in Taranaki.