Waitangi Day Address

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, may I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - in English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.  Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the afternoon (Sign)

Thank you for accepting the invitation of my wife Susan and myself, to attend this event to mark the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

On this day 168 years ago, a remarkable event occurred when representatives of the British Crown - principally my predecessor, Lt Governor William Hobson, and representatives of New Zealand's first people, the Maori chiefs, agreed upon a compact on how this nation would be governed.

There were no shots fired in anger and no occupying armed force or an army waiting to invade. Maori were not a defeated people signing an agreement of capitulation, but a strong people who agreed to share this land. The settlers who followed the signing of the Treaty did so lawfully because two peoples had willingly signed an agreement rather than one forcing the other to do so. 

I am not suggesting that the motives of those who signed the Treaty were divinely pure.  Daily experience teaches us that few dealings in life rarely are.  But I would hazard a guess that there are few, if any other examples where such monumental change has occurred without a shot being fired.  Our world is rife with instances where such agreements are reached only after years of bitter and bloody conflict.  And there are many other examples of peoples, so divided by race, religion or culture, where peace seems forever elusive.

As is also well known, the terms of the Treaty were breached many times.  I do not intend to go into the details of these failings, but suffice to say that many wrongs were committed.  But through the perseverance of Maori claimants and organisations and more recently by successive governments, the Waitangi Tribunal and the courts, the injustices of the past are now being addressed.  Much remains to be done, but an earnest start, imbued with the best intentions of the Treaty's original signatories, has begun. 

What the "spirit of the Treaty" is or means has been the subject of much debate.  I see this not as a cause for concern but as one of optimism.  The importance of this ongoing discussion was well put by a French essayist, Joseph Joubert, when he said: "It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it." 

New Zealanders have much to rejoice about their nation's history and prospects.  Ours is a young country, that one commentator wryly observed is of a similar age to the invention of photography.  But in that short time, New Zealanders have conquered the world's highest peaks, split the atom, and excelled internationally in sport, in science, literature, cinema and in the creative arts.  New Zealanders—both Maori and non-Maori alike—have served with valour and honour on many battlefields far from home, to defend democratic freedoms.  New Zealand was a key player in the establishment of the United Nations and New Zealanders continue to serve as UN peacekeepers in some of the world's most troubled places.

New Zealand has also developed its own distinctive culture, founded on twin pillars of Maori and Western culture.  It has seen a coming together of one culture based on an oral tradition and represented in carving, genealogy, song and dance, with a culture where, in addition to its forms of art, knowledge is stored in libraries and archives and taught in schools and places of higher learning. 

This duality is well represented by the State welcomes that are hosted at Government House.  These symbolic ceremonies, which show the many faces of New Zealand to foreign Heads of State, begin with a formal Maori challenge and welcome from a NZ Defence Force cultural party.  At the Wellington ceremony, this is followed by a massed haka by students—both Maori and Pakeha—from next door Wellington College.  Then in traditional British kind of fashion, to the music of the Band of the Air Force and a 21-gun salute, the invited guest of honour will inspect a military guard of honour.  This has been variously followed by a meet and greet with children from the neighbouring Primary School, St Marks' or a choir performance by pupils from Wellington East Girls' College.  The resulting amalgam of races, cultures, ages and military ceremony, while commonplace to New Zealanders, never fails to draw anything but positive remarks from foreign dignitaries. 

And New Zealand's own distinctive cultural mix, based on these two cultural foundations, and underpinned by the Treaty, continues to diversify.  The 2006 Census revealed that 23 percent of New Zealanders were born overseas, one of the highest rates in the OECD.  A century ago, almost all of those people would have hailed from Britain or Ireland.  Today, about 28 percent come from those isles—the same proportion as those from Asia.  In part reflecting these changes, New Zealand's religious mix is also becoming highly diverse—with about half describing themselves as Christian, a third expressing no religion at all and the rest being a growing mix of non-Christian faiths. 

This increasing diversity is enriching New Zealand's culture, society and economy.  In the last 17 months, my wife Susan and I have travelled widely throughout New Zealand and its Pacific territories.  We have travelled the length—having visited both Cape Reinga and Stewart Island—but not yet the breadth of New Zealand, as some parts of the East and West Coasts have yet to be visited. 

In those travels, we have seen the positive of contribution that New Zealanders of many races, cultures and faiths are making to our nation's success. I have seen the strength of Kingitanga movement, having been at some of the farewells offered for Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, who was a great New Zealander leader, soon after my swearing in August 2006, as well as being at the Koroneihana celebrations at Turangawaewae for Te Arikinui Kingi Tuheitia a year later.

Likewise, either prior or immediately after visits to Samoa, Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands, we have held community receptions at either Government House in Auckland or Wellington.  These gatherings, as well as officially opening the Tangata o le Moana exhibition at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, have reinforced to me the positive contribution that all Pacific peoples have made to New Zealand. 

And through patronages I have seen discussion and greater understanding by those new to our country of what it means to be a New Zealander, to live in a democracy and of the importance of the Treaty of Waitangi as our nation's founding document. I believe it is important for all New Zealand communities to engage in these discussions.  By talking to each other, we not only build a shared understanding of the Treaty, but a better understanding of each other.

Former Anglican Bishop of Aotearoa and Waitangi Tribunal member, the late Bishop Manu Bennett, rightly argued that the Treaty should be seen as compact that brings us together.  He saw the Treaty "not as an instrument to divide the nation but a way of partnership rather more of a spiritual than a legal document, so the idea of it being a covenant is central. A covenant is an agreement based on the promises of two people to take the best possible care they can of each other."

This will not be an easy discussion but no debate worth its salt ever is.    Last year, New Zealand adopted its first Statement on Religious Diversity and I had the pleasure of attending the National Interfaith Forum in Hamilton in February last year when it was considered.  As we all know, religion has pulled many families, communities and nations apart.  The preamble, however, makes a telling point:

"At the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, Governor Hobson affirmed, in response to a question from Catholic Bishop Pompallier, [that] "the several faiths of England, of the Wesleyans, of Rome, and also Maori custom shall alike be protected"."

That Governor Hobson referred specifically to the followers "of Rome" only 11 years after Catholic emancipation in Britain, and also those of "Maori custom," indicates that even as this nation was founded, religious tolerance was affirmed.  Tolerance then should be our byword as we also debate the spirit and role of the Treaty as we move into the future together.

In the poem, Papa-tu-a-nuku, New Zealand and Nga Puhi poet, Hone Tuwhare, who sadly passed away recently, spoke of Maori love of this land and connection to it as he set out on the 1975 land march.  But I believe its sentiments express how we all feel towards our country, when he wrote:

We are stroking, caressing the spine

of the land.

We are massaging the ricked

back of the land

With our sore but ever-loving feet. 

Hell, she loves it!

Squirming, the land wriggles

in delight.

We love her.

And on that heartening note I will close in New Zealand's first language, Maori, by offering greetings and wishing you good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.