Ngapuhi’s treaty claim

Stuff reports:

New Zealand could be “rocked constitutionally” in a Waitangi Tribunal hearing starting today with the country’s largest tribe, Ngapuhi, arguing they never ceded sovereignty to the Crown.

The Northland iwi of 122,000 people will argue it was and still is a self-governing state within New Zealand.

They can argue what they like, and the Tribunal can agree or disagree, but it won’t affect the legal and political reality that they are part of New Zealand, and not a self-governing state.

If they want to start refusing health, education and welfare payments from the Government, then I’d take the claims more seriously.

Mr Piripi said Maori had occupied the area for up to 2000 years and had governed themselves for much of the time. The tribunal would allow them to reassert this.

2,000 years? Doesn’t sound like history is their strong point. Almost all scientific evidence points to around 1280 as the time of migration here. So that is 560 years of self-rule, not 2,000 years.