Brash on Treaty

Dr Brash clarifies his views on Treaty issues in the Herald:

“But it is quite wrong to argue that, because Maori are over-represented in negative social statistics, the ‘Crown’, or the Government on behalf of all New Zealanders, has somehow failed to discharge its obligation under the Treaty.

“If Maori New Zealanders die more frequently from lung cancer than non-Maori do, for example, it is almost certainly because Maori New Zealanders choose to smoke more heavily than other New Zealanders do …

“Similarly if there are relatively few Maori at the Auckland Law School – and that despite preferential arrangements for Maori – that is not a failing of the Government, but a result of decisions made by individual Maori,” he said.

“Nobody would suggest that because there are relatively few European New Zealanders in the All Blacks, there has been a breach of the Treaty.”