In the end sanity finally prevailed last week and all submissions made on the Treaty Principles Bill will be processed and preserved as part of the official record, following earlier fears that would not happen. But most were not considered by the Justice Committee before it issued its majority report recommending that the Bill not proceed.

And today the odious Treaty Principles Bill will finally be consigned to the dustbin of history, where it firmly belongs. It won’t be the end of race-baiting politicians seeking to stir up division for the sake of a few points in the polls. But it will be an important milestone in rejecting what was nothing less than an outright attack on te Tiriti o Waitangi.

I was one of those fortunate enough to be invited to present an oral submission on the Bill and noted during the course of my evidence that teaching Aotearoa New Zealand history would in the longer term help end the inter-generational cycle of ignorance around our past, making it make more difficult for mis- and disinformation around te Tiriti to flourish in the future. You can watch a video of it here.

Parts of my written submission were also referenced in the Green Party report on the Bill, particularly with reference to Britain hardly being a full-fledged democracy as at 1840, and the demographic, military and economic dominance of Māori at the time of the Treaty signing. Although it is has been published elsewhere before, I’ve also set out my submission below for those who might not have seen it.