Source: Radio New Zealand
Lady Tureiti Moxon in Geneva. Supplied/Sarah Sparks
The government has “escalated discrimination against Māori”, health leader Lady Tureiti Moxon has told the UN in Geneva.
Moxon (Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa, Kai Tahu) presented her complaint to the United Nations Committee on Eliminating Racial Discrimination (CERD) in the early hours of Tuesday (NZ time), specifically its five-member working group responsible for the Early Warning and Urgent Action procedure.
CERD has only issued one other specific decision under this procedure for New Zealand – in March 2005, concerning the New Zealand Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004.
Under CERD the New Zealand government is required to regularly report on its progress at eliminating racial discrimination and supporting Indigenous peoples, ethnic and religious minority groups to enjoy their rights and freedoms.
“I brought this urgent complaint because, since late 2023, the coalition government has escalated discrimination against Māori, spread misinformation, and overridden constitutional norms. These actions breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi, our founding agreement,” Moxon told the committee.
“Your 2021 state report is now redundant. Instead of progressing toward eliminating racial discrimination, the government has been rapidly dismantling protections and creating unprecedented harm. Multiple indicators of your Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure are now met: new discriminatory laws, political exclusion, dismantling of oversight bodies, inflammatory rhetoric, encroachment on Indigenous lands and waters, and environmental deregulation that harms Māori communities.”
Moxon singled out:
Moxon also pointed to two laws passed in the past fortnight, the Regulatory Standards Bill which she said “gives a single minister power to review laws using standards that exclude Māori rights and Te Tiriti;” and the Education and Training Amendment Bill, which removes obligations for schools to give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi.
“I urge the committee to express grave concern, require urgent reporting, conduct a follow-up visit within six months, and call on Aotearoa New Zealand to honour Te Tiriti and to stop regressive measures, misinformation and constitutional overreach. Māori are experiencing accelerating, state-driven harm. Urgent action is needed now.”
The CERD Committee review session for New Zealand opens early on Wednesday morning (NZ time) with an introductory statement by Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith.
Representatives from the New Zealand government will then respond to questions from members of the CERD Committee.
The Committee will publish draft findings and recommendations for New Zealand before the end of its 116th session, which concludes on 5 December.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
