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Forget the Treaty

Entry 2429, on 2026-02-10 at 17:12:39 (Rating 4, Politics)

I often write a post about New Zealand's (alleged) national day, Waitangi Day, and it is generally fairly negative because it isn't a national day at all, it is primarily an opportunity for Maori activists to whine about how bad things are and how they should be given a whole pile of undeserved money and special privileges.

Many people will say I am a racist for calling out this phenomenon, because it involves a "minority racial group", but I equally criticise any other group which utilises similar tactics, and it is the activists I am talking about, not Maori in general. Also, many activists for Maori causes are not Maori themselves, so I think it is fairly clear it is the idea I am against, not any particular racial group.

At this year's Waitangi Day commemoration the leader of New Zealand's libertarian party, Act, made a few comments which got the woke mob into a bit of a bit of a state. While that party is nominally libertarian, it is fairly moderate in fact, and it's only because politics has gone so far to the left that some people dare to suggest it is "far right", which it is not, or course. See my blog post on the Overton Window from 2024-06-19 for a discussion on how what is labelled, left, right, and centrist has changed in recent times.

The comment that got most attention was one on the positive aspects of colonialism. The British colonised this country and the Treaty of Waitangi (which is primarily what our national day commemorates) served as an official agreement on how the process of colonisation should proceed, to ensure that all groups were treated fairly.

Unfortunately there are several issues which affect how the Treaty is interpreted and utilised. First, there is more than one version, with potentially different meanings. Second, some words in the Maori language do not have an exact English equivalent (and vice versa) so the Maori and English speaking sides might have had different expectations. Third, in recent times a new concept, known as the "principles" of the Treaty has emerged which tries to add extra obligations which aren't mentioned directly anywhere. And finally, both sides have not followed even the most basic requirements very well resulting in claims for compensation.

Many people think the Treaty is no longer fit for purpose (that is assuming it ever was). I tend to agree. The Treaty was written in a time when there were two very distinct cultures in the country, and when there was almost constant war, primarily between different Maori tribes, and it was necessary to bring some order to the situation. But New Zealand is now a modern, mainly peaceful and fairly affluent society, so the original pupose is no longer relevant.

Now the Treaty is more a mechanism to generate division than it is one to create unity. It is an excuse to give one group (Maori) special privileges that others don't have (and yes, I can list those if necessary). It is a way to get woke ideology included in places where it can have the most effect, especially in education, where naive young people are being indoctrinated with pro-Maori propaganda.

So apart from a few Maori elites, and a group of super-woke morons, no one is gaining much from this worthless travesty of a document: it is time for it to go. Of course, that will never happen, because those groups I mentioned above have too much to lose, and too many people have been taken in by the propaganda about the Treaty being an important founding document. All we can really do at this time is to resist the nonsense they are trying to spin.

So the point that colonisation had both good and bad aspects, just like everything else, was seen as controversial. But this is absurd. Nothing is all bad, and even if you believe that colonisation was primarily a bad thing (something I reject entirely) it is ridiculous to say that we should ignore the positives.

It is because of colonisation, and not a lot because of the Treaty or anything Maori did, that we live in that prosperous and peaceful country I mentioned above. And those positive things apply as much to Maori as anyone else. Sure, it is possible that if the country had not been colonised that Maori might have developed an advanced society by themselves, but would they really? And even if they had, how much longer would it have taken without the colonisation process acting as a sort of shortcut to advancement?

There have been very few cultures, outside of Western society, which have advanced to the same degree as those which were colonised. Even India, which did have a quite advanced culture in some ways before the British arrived, benefitted hugely from colonisation. India, like almost every country previously colonised, is now independent, but the benefits the British brought with them are still there.

So I say let's celebrate colonisation and when I am accused of being a coloniser I often say "yes, that is true, you can thank me later". Of course, as an individual I am no more a coloniser than anyone else, because that is ancient history, but the culture I identify with (Western) was a coloniser, so I accept both the criticism and the thanks which should go along with that.

Colonisation was a thing of it's time. It was bad, it was good, but it is no longer really relevant. The same applies to the Treaty and to our horrible national day which derives from it. I think it is time to forget Waitangi Day, and to forget the Treaty!

Comment 1 (8537) by Anonymous on 2026-02-17 at 17:37:26:

Your opinion is very outdated. Most people like the national day and approve of the Treaty. Time to update your attitude!

Comment 2 (8538) by OJB on 2026-02-17 at 17:39:14:

But do they? Do "most people" really approve? Last survey I saw was a few years back now (I'll look for a more recent one), but it indicated the vast majority of people just saw Waitangi Day as a day off work, and attached no special meaning to it at all.

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