Staff Reporter
The New Conservative Party has described the Ihumatao issue as a ‘fork on the road,’ meaning that it is time to decide the future of the country.
Party Deputy Leader Elliot Ikilei believes that reopening the issue would be harmful to the country’s future and strike at the heart of the Treaty of Waitangi itself.
He said that the Ihumatao deal was already signed and sealed, it was a full and final deal, benefitting the mana whenua and the whanau involved.
Illegal protests
“It is a great project to lessen the Auckland housing crisis and create jobs and income,” he said.
Mr Ikilei accused the current coalition government of non-adherence of the New Zealand law and following the illegal protests.
“Since the formation of the Waitangi Tribunal, we have witnessed ‘full and final’ settlements considered not full and final, with ‘top-ups’ and ’extras,’ along with increasingly bizarre claims such as radio waves, the entitlement to personhood and voice of a river, and the entirety of the New Zealand coastline. Even prisoner voting rights and child protection services have now been targeted for an expanding industry of grievance,” he said.
Mr Ikilei said that Ihumatao is a consequence of this new, expanding jurisdiction, but goes even further and allows for the most extreme Treaty precedents in New Zealand history.
He warned the Labour-led Green and New Zealand First Coalition government entering into a new, taxpayer-funded Ihumatao Settlement.
Exploitation by the greedy
He said that such a Settlement will open all previously finalised Settlements for rejection and negotiation and that private land will be up for grabs.
“We are witnessing the growth of resentment, guilt, confusion and entitlement within our people, and much of this stems from the new combination of fake, real and made-up grievances. The racial rift exploited by race-baiting politicians, opportunistic corporates and undemocratic authorities proclaiming false virtue, are profiting from our families of all skin colour,” he said.
According to Mr Ikilei, “Maori deserve much better than this.”
“Ka mua, ka muri. We have looked back, as we needed to. It is now time to move forward. We must honour the deal that was already done in Ihumatao. We must disband the Waitangi Tribunal and stop race-based policies so that we may all walk forward into the future. Together. And finally realise the spirit of the Treaty that William Hobson stated to each chief as he signed,” he said.
New Conservative Party Deputy Leader Elliot Ikilei (Picture Supplied)
