In a letter on Treaty Settlements Office Ministerial letterhead dated 9 September 2019, Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little, in regards to a pamphlet arguing that everyone ought to be treated equally before the law, stated: “The pamphlet….. curiously ignores the fact that Maori were not treated equally before the law between 1840 and about 1922 when Maori women were finally granted the franchise”.
The fact is that Maori women, who received full rights of British subjects under Article 3 of the Treaty, received the vote in 1893 alongside their European women equals. Such misinformation is insidious in that it creates a grievance mentality in the minds of supposed victims and can be used to justify legal privileges awarded to those with Maori ancestors. And in this case the misinformation promoted by the Office of Treaty Negotiations could clearly have the ability to affect the judgment of Minister Little in the execution of his duties as Minister for Treaty Negotiations (four yearly budget of $1.4 billion) as well as his conduct of Marine and Coastal Area Act negotiations.