‘National movement’: Youth drive 283,000-signature petition against Treaty bill

An online petition driven by a small group of Ngāti Whakaue youth opposing the Treaty Principles Bill has gathered more than 283,000 signatures after taking off on Instagram.
The “Stop the Treaty Principles Bill – Toitū Te Tiriti” gained the vast majority of those signatures in a week.
It grew rapidly as the national Hīkoi mō te Tiriti opposing the bill made its way towards Parliament, attracting a crowd police estimated at 10,000 supporters on last Friday’s Rotorua leg and 40,000 in Wellington.
A copy of the petition with 203,653 signatures was handed to Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke as the hīkoi reached Parliament on Tuesday, but it has continued to grow online.
Act leader David Seymour says the petition does not accurately depict his bill saying it was about equal rights and protecting the rights of all New Zealanders, including Māori.
Kassie Hartendorp, director of ActionStation, said it was the biggest community petition the platform had hosted since launching in 2014.
“Young people via Instagram drove the push, with over 2.3 million viewing it in under a week,” Hartendorp said.
ActionStation data showed that as of 11am on Thursday, among those who had signed were about 140,000 Māori, 67,000 young people and around 770 people of Ngāti Whakaue.
The petition was authored by Rotorua-raised Maringi Te Rangi-Ātaahua James, a 21-year-old Auckland University student and member of Te Rōpū Rangatahi o Ngāti Whakaue (Whiri.a), a group of iwi youth aged 18-24.
James, who is going into her fourth year of conjoint degrees in law and arts majoring in Māori studies and history, said she started the petition eight months ago as she could see the groundwork being laid for “harmful agendas”. It evolved to focus on the bill as more information came out.
Initially, a local effort focused on impacts to Ngāti Whakaue and ensuring the iwi and rangatahi had a voice in the discussion, James said it grew into a “national movement”.
“I wasn’t sure how it would go – I thought if we gathered even 2000 signatures, it could still be a tool for our rōpū [group] to encourage rangatahi into constructive opposition. What I didn’t expect was for it to grow to over 200,000 signatures and for us to create an email list of more than 270,000 people.”
She said seeing that growth was “overwhelming but inspiring”, and a reminder of the collective strength in unity.
James said Te Rōpū Rangatahi o Ngāti Whakaue was a “small but passionate group of rangatahi Māori who came together to amplify our voices in ways that matter”.
She described growing up “grounded in Koutu and Ōhinemutu”.
Her mother, Lauren James – who joined her in Wellington on Tuesday – encouraged her to do the petition.
“While I’m not the loudest or most outspoken, I love to write, and this felt like a way I could contribute.
“I carry the aspirations of Ngāti Whakaue with me.”
The petition outlines the history of Te Tiriti, the bill’s three principles and concerns the Government’s agenda is to “diminish the unique place of Māori in relation to the Treaty, by trampling on its mana”.
It encourages people to sign the petition and prepare submissions against the bill – which are open until January 7 for Parliament’s justice committee.
James said she hoped to encourage rangatahi to step into spaces like the submission process, which could feel intimidating and inaccessible but were important for creating change.
“There’s a perception that rangatahi don’t care enough or aren’t equipped to take on issues like this, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We care deeply about the future of Aotearoa and protecting the promises of Te Tiriti, as well as agreements like the Rotorua Township Agreement. What’s needed is a shift in how we’re supported and encouraged to take action, and I hope this petition is a step toward making that happen.”
Maipi-Clarke, Parliament’s youngest MP, said it was an honour to receive the petition in front of the masses of whānau gathered outside Parliament on Tuesday.
It was presented to the House of Representatives and announced by the clerk at the start of proceedings on Wednesday.
“My Nana Hana Te Hemera presented a petition on September 14, 1972 which called for te reo Māori to be permitted in our schools. So it was a full-circle moment for me,” the Hauraki-Waikato MP said.
She said this generation of rangatahi were “rising” and finding the confidence to champion causes and lead.
“I mihi to those of Ngāti Whakaue for championing such a historic petition.”
Seymour said the petition “relies on the same false rhetoric” as many bill opponents that it would strip Māori of their mana.
“With the wording of the petition’s introduction, it’s not surprising so many people signed it, but it’s not an accurate depiction of what the bill does.”
He said the bill was about equal rights and “protecting the rights of everyone, including Māori, and upholding Treaty settlements”.
“What the Treaty Principles Bill actually says is that we all have nga tikanga katoa rite tahi – the same rights and duties. All New Zealanders have tino rangatiratanga, the right to self-determine, not only Māori.”
He said the proposed principles had a ratio of two-to-one support in recent polling and this suggested it could pass if put to a referendum, as ACT wanted.
“That is why other parties are so keen to shut down the debate – they know they’re on the wrong side of public opinion.”
Samantha Motion is a regional content leader for NZME. She has reported in the Bay of Plenty region for more than a decade.