Column – Te Pukenga Koeke o Ngati Pikiao
We Te Pukenga Koeke o Ngati Pikiao, understand that you, the Maori Party have been telling the tangata whenua of New Zealand that you oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, which is in line with the policies of your party.Re: The preliminary signing of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement
Tena koe Te Ururoa Flavell,
We Te Pukenga Koeke o Ngati Pikiao, understand that you, the Maori Party have been telling the tangata whenua of New Zealand that you oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, which is in line with the policies of your party.
We Te Pukenga Koeke o Ngati Pikiao, are adamant that the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement will do more to undermine our kaitiakitanga and our people than any action or lack thereof that this or previous governments have undertaken (or not as the case may be).
We believe that the TPPA undermines the crowns ability to act in good faith for the tangata whenua of Aotearoa.
It is highly questionable how this government with the support of the Maori Party can regulate for the benefit of Maori if said benefit interferes with the profit making of an international corporation. No government will legislate in the interest of their people if to do so would invite legitimate legal sanctions. We have been made aware of pay-outs in the billions of dollars. New Zealand cannot cope with such threats.
We challenge you the Maori party to stand by the people you say you represent. It is only through your support, the supply and confidence arrangement, you have with this national government that has allowed them to negotiate a secret trade deal.
Nationals own admissions, to-date, has given fair and reasonable rise to the fear that this trade agreement will be damaging and harmful to the most needy and the most vulnerable in New Zealand society. Especially Maori!
In order for you to be seen as standing by your people, we say you must now remove your supply and confidence agreement from the National party, thus removing their mandate to act as our government and removing their ability to ratify this treaty on our behalf.
They have not asked us, they have not consulted with us. They are not representing us and as such you must stop them from agreeing to the final signing of this trade agreement.
We advise you with all humility that you will gain more at the next election by walking away from this coalition now then you presume to gain now by remaining at the table.
Signed on behalf of Te Pukenga Koeke o Ngati Pikiao, on the 18th day of October 2015
Te Ariki (Derek) Morehu Te Uru
Kaumatua
O Te Whetu Frederick Whata
Kaumatua
ENDS
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz
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