He Whakaputanga: The history behind the founding document we rarely talk about stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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National Party leader Judith Collins addressing the party’s northern convention at the weekend, when she described He Puapua as a “divisive government document”. By introducing private property ownership, Māori lands could be more easily alienated and sold to European settlers (as well as made more vulnerable to confiscation through failure to pay costs associated with land titling, surveying, rates etc). The claims that the rights of private property are paramount under article two is wilfully ignorant at best, and intentionally damaging and divisive at worst. What does the text actually say? Although various interpretations have been put forward and debated over the years, the Wai 1040 Te Paparahi o te Raki inquiry found that the Māori language text is the only authoritative text.