Te Kāhui Tika Tangata | Human Rights Commission
As the full, sweeping effects of today’s Budget start to be realised, it’s crucial to remember that it sits on the cornerstone of our founding rights and constitutional document, te Tiriti o Waitangi. At the moment, Māori are responding to a rhetoric that doesn’t seem to recognise our existence. And today’s budget appears to reflect that.
Before te Tiriti o Waitangi, there was no annual Budget.
Iwi, hapū and whānau up and down the country were engaged in highly productive trade – with each other and the foreign travellers increasingly arriving on their doorstep. The relative wealth of Māori at this time is well documented.
