Jonathan Milne
The Waitangi Tribunal and the Government are engaging in extraordinary and perhaps unprecedented brinkmanship. For at least one of them, this game of chicken could prove terminal.
This week, the Government decided to quietly bring forward the introduction of the contentious Treaty Principles Bill to this Thursday, without announcing it. And Newsroom understands the bill’s three principles would be used to interpret any law where Treaty principles would normally be considered relevant – not just legislation that refers to Treaty principles directly.
Bringing the bill forward will allow it to be introduced before the protest hīkoi arrives on Parliament’s forecourt; equally or more importantly, it would have put the bill before the House before the Waitangi Tribunal was scheduled to report on the process.