Maori problems
Willie Jackson delays submitting draft UN statement plan to cabinet because he knows ministers won’t support it
A draft United Nations declaration plan has been handed over to the Māori development minister, but is being held back by the cabinet until some of the recommendations are watered down.
In April, the cabinet ministers green light given for drawing up the plan to explain how New Zealand would comply with the United Nations’ obligations regarding the rights of indigenous peoples.
The completed draft plan is due to be submitted to cabinet for approval this month, so that the rest of New Zealand can then be consulted on the proposed recommendations. Māori were consulted first and the feedback received from the 70 hui across the country was used to substantiate the proposals.
But on Wednesday, Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson told Newsroom that he is delaying a paper to cabinet because he isn’t comfortable with about 20 percent of what has been proposed.
“We’re a bit held up at the moment – we’re working through the process. I want to be able to bring the correct paper back to the cabinet, otherwise it will just be thrown away,” he told Newsroom.
“Language is everything and in my view we need to be very careful with that as this is a response from the government to the statement.
“What we’ve had before is nothing and now we have a chance to get approval from the cabinet, but we can’t approve something that will be thrown away or cause a stir in the public.”
Jackson said the draft plan as delivered to him would not make it past Cabinet and currently does not meet his expectations.
“If I don’t feel comfortable, I’m sure the cabinet won’t be either. There are some areas where we agree, but there are also some other areas where we clearly disagree.”
Jackson would not go into the details of where the differences lie, as he is having “good faith” discussions with the board of directors set up to consult and draft the plan.
“You can imagine some wishes or questions from them, but as I remind them, it’s not just about them. It’s about what we want to do as a government and how we want to live up to that statement and how we realistically move forward to get people to recognize that there are indigenous obligations without them thinking we’re going to take their homes from them.” †
“What we’re dealing with is that every time we do something, there’s almost a threat that a Rhodesian situation will come up on the table,” Jackson said.
“You can imagine anything on a wish list that they would like, but such a wish list could endanger us as a government.”
“I want New Zealanders to feel comfortable with it,” he told Newsroom.
“We’ve had so much, and yes, we have a gap to make up for, but I’m not willing to risk everything for pie in the sky.” – Willie Jackson
Jackson said, for example, proposals could include an entirely separate Māori justice system.
“There can be such demands – well I don’t want that.”
He said that is his position and that it has nothing to do with any public reaction or concern about what it would mean politically for the government.
Jackson has been involved in Māori politics all his life, saying that if he’s not interested in two separate systems, chances are “the average Māori” won’t either.
“I know what the average Māori will think and they don’t walk around every day thinking about the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Peoples – they think about their housing, their health, their education.”
Jackson says if he’s lucky he’ll bring a paper to cabinet by the end of July, but he won’t rush it because it’s important to “keep what we have now.”
“We’ve had so much, and yes, we have a gap to make up for, but I’m not willing to risk everything for pie in the sky.”