WILLIAM LUDBROOK: Luxon’s silence on Te Tiriti o’ Waitangi is undemocratic and deafening in 2026

Why is te Tiriti o’ Waitangi such a divisive issue?

In April 2025 Prime Minister Christopher Luxon promulgated: “I have been talking to iwi

leaders for the past 12 months”

And?– so?– no reasonable New Zealander would object to that. The problem is not

that Luxon “had been talking to iwi leaders” The problem is that iwi leaders increasingly infer they are in a privileged position in shaping Government Policy. The National Iwi Chairs Forum requested a meeting after objecting to the government’s review of Treaty clauses throughout legislation. Their complaint was that they had not been sufficiently consulted before Cabinet considered reforms?

The NZ Government was elected by the people of New Zealand. It has a democratic

mandate to review legislation. Yet iwi leaders are arguing that government policy

affecting all New Zealanders, should not proceed without their approval or participation.

That is not democracy.

Where are the special reforms for ratepayers concerned about co-governance? Where

are the closed-door meetings with taxpayers who fund the growing network of race

based programmes? Where are the invitations to the millions of New Zealanders who

simply believe that every citizen should have equal rights and equal political influence

as New Zealanders?

Yet on these concerns for New Zealanders, Luxon remains largely silent again. Is it any

wonder Luxon’s rating as New Zealand’s Prime Minister continues to languish in this

country?

Some Maori today appear to connect greater importance of the 1840 Tiriti o’ Waitangi

to the word Rangatiratanga which they say means "chiefly authority, leadership, and the right to self determination.

The advocates for the dual-sovereignty paradigm, argue that the Treaty maintained

Maori in their independent ‘Sovereign’ status.

How could that even be remotely possible when Maori did not even know what the word “sovereignty” meant when te Tiriti o’ Waitangi was signed in 1840? That is why Henry Williams and his eldest son Edward used two maori words “Kawanatanga Katoa” to translate the word sovereignty which means “Governor for all” and / or Government.

Maori knew what this meant when they signed the Tiriti in 1840.

In whatever sense the Treaty guaranteed Maori the unqualified exercise of their

chieftainship, it cannot mean a chieftainship outside the scope of the Sovereignty of the Crown.

Furthermore, the problem for those who assert whatever “tino rangatiratanga”

means, it does not mean sovereignty.

The context, in both the English and Maori versions, is very clearly one where the

governing authority of Her Majesty the Queen was being established throughout New

Zealand in 1840 and remains today in 2026.

Hence, again, it cannot mean a chieftainship outside the scope of the sovereignty of the British Royal Crown.

In return for the cession of their sovereignty to the Queen, the people of New Zealand

shall be protected by the Queen of England and the rights and privileges of British

subjects will be granted to them

That is a clear, uncomplicated and easy to understand segment of the Treaty of the

Waitangi.

Yet what do we see today? A toxic culture of division being perpetrated by activists who are only interested in causing resentment. Instead of celebrating the benefits of shared heritage, one that includes Western advancements that raised the standard of living for everyone. These agitators push for separatism. Co-governance, race based laws, and constant demands for ‘decolonisation’ are going to rip our social fabric apart.

Here’s the truth: no nation can survive on the basis of two separate legal systems, one

for one race and one for another. That’s not equality, it’s apartheid, plain and simple.

And what makes it worse, is that this divisive ideology is being peddled under the guise

of liberal ‘justice’. It’s not liberal and it’s not justice, it’s Maori supremacy, brought to

you by a sickening and increasing number of present day new generation Maori.

We need to urgently reject this path and embrace the only principles that made New

Zealand a success: equality before the law, individual rights, and a shared national

identity. We should respect Maori heritage, but respect isn’t achieved by bending the

knee to historical grievances or rewriting the rules of governance to privilege one group over many others.

Maori culture, like Western culture, is worth preserving, and not through racial

favouritism or endless guilt-tripping about colonisation. It’s preserved through genuine

pride, mutual respect, and the recognition that we’re all citizens of the same country.

Kiwis are some of the most patriotic people you’ll ever meet. There’s a pride that runs

deep in this country, pride in our way of life, pride in the freedoms we enjoy, and pride in the fact that we’ve created a society which, despite it’s flaws, is still one of the best in

the world to live in. We are fiercely protective of our home, our culture and our shared

history.

So when we talk about Maori and Pakeha relations, it’s important to remember that the

vast majority of New Zealanders want a future where we can all live side by side as

equals, without the need for separate laws or separate systems of governance.

This isn’t about ignoring the past or rejecting the Treaty, It’s about building a future that

reflects the reality of what New Zealand is today: a diverse but unified country, where

every person regardless of their ancestry, has the same rights and accountabilities

The perplexed past governments designed and past a legislation to extend the powers

to the Waitangi Tribunal to decide on the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi.

And the Parliament responsible for this legislation included our so-called leaders of their time, including to name a few: Bolger, Shipley, Clarke, Key, English, Ardern, and so on.

They created the problems for this country, then ran away from them and said to us:

“there’s nothing to see here– move on”

Well there is plenty to see.

We are basically in a dreaded, unacceptable, predicament, and there is no easy

solution to fix it because New Zealanders have been fed untruths about the Treaty for

decades. We, as Kiwis, need to always “Honour the 1840 Treaty--Tiriti o’ Waitangi”

But this is not what Chris Hipkins, the Greens, Te Pati Maori, and some other politicians

say, or our schools and Universities, the Waitangi Tribunal, and the Courts say. They

say NZ Maori did not cede Sovereignty to the British Royal Crown.

Conclusion: The Treaty is a simple document. Clear and definite. Both parties clearly

understood what they were signing and both parties were happy to sign.The modern

day academic and judicial revisionists have deliberately muddied the waters of the

original Treaty understanding. There are two undeniable bottom lines- Sovereignty was

definitely conceded by Maori and the concept of partnership was never entertained.

Henry Williams will be turning in his grave today. This former Royal Navy officer

turned missionary and peacemaker, was an outstanding character in those pivotal years when our nation was formed. Indeed one early historian has described him as “one of the greatest men who ever influenced the destinies of New Zealand” It is an apt

description. All of his life here he was loved and revered by Maori throughout New

Zealand for his fearless courage and dedication towards ensuring the best well being of Maori.

By: William (Bill) Ludbrook - Great, great, grandson of Archdeacon Henry Williams who

translated the Treaty of Waitangi with his eldest son Edward from English into the Maori language in 1840