Submitted by Socialist Aotearoa member Malcolm.
We acknowledge that this submission is late. While we were aware of this bill issue and the controversy surrounding it, we were not provided with adequate notice of public consultation. Whether intentional or not, the consultation period commenced on 19 November 2024 and initially closed on 7 January 2025, offering only one month for public input before the Christmas break. Although the deadline was extended by a week, this still amounts to less than two months, including the Christmas holidays, for one of New Zealand’s most controversial, repugnant, and malicious bills ever presented to the committee or the House.
There can only be two reasons for this: either the committee believes the bill to be frivolous and unworthy of serious public consideration, or it was strategically timed to limit public input, especially from hardworking and busy New Zealanders who, like most, take holidays during this time. Neither of these reasons is acceptable in a democratic society, and we request that you accept this submission on that basis. Additionally, as an entity advocating for decolonisation and striving to bring genuine education to New Zealand’s society previous governments have failed to provide—it is imperative to recognize that Socialist Aotearoa as a political party has a legitimate critique of Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill, a critique that, as far as we know, has not yet been voiced.
Both the National and ACT parties have publicly stated that they will not support the Treaty Principles Bill beyond its first reading. Yet, here we are, still discussing the bill and participating in what seems to be a pseudo-public consultation. If the bill is not expected to pass why is this process even being followed? Either ACT hopes to sway the committee into accepting something as preposterous as this bill, or their true goal is to shift the long-term debate and public attitude surrounding Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) to pave the way for future legislation, driven by a desire to fulfil their political agenda. This strategy relies on the assumption that the majority of New Zealanders, who are not Māori, will fail to engage critically with open mind on this critical issue.
Background Context
In 1834, Māori designed their own flag and, in 1835, wrote He Whakaputanga o Te Rangitiratanga o Nu Tireni (often referred to as the Declaration of Independence of New Territory). This declaration, signed by 34 northland chiefs of Northland, was ratified by King William IV of England. The declaration enshrined Māori sovereignty . It is 4 articles with article 1 declaring their sovereignty and more crucially article 2 declaring:
2. The sovereignty/kingship (Kīngitanga) and the mana from the land of the Confederation of New Zealand are here declared to belong solely to the true leaders (Tino Rangatira) of our gathering, and we also declare that we will not allow (tukua) any other group to frame laws (wakarite ture), nor any Governorship (Kawanatanga) to be established in the lands of the Confederation, unless (by persons) appointed by us to carry out (wakarite) the laws (ture) we have enacted in our assembly (huihuinga).
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/interactive/the-declaration-of-independence
This pivotal moment in history was later extended to other Māori tribes, establishing the Māori Nation’s sovereignty.
On 6 Feb 1940 40 chiefs “signed” Te Tiriti o Waitangi (often shortened to The Treaty). And by the end of 1840, 500 Māori chiefs and other leaders had signed the Māori version. Te Tiriti was an agreement between Māori and the Queen of England that upheld the sovereignty declared in He Whakaputanga o Te Rangitiratanga o Nu Tireni.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi was viewed as a partnership between Māori and the Queen, ensuring rights for each party and offering protection to all by the Queen (Victoria).
Not all Māori tribes signed the Te Tiriti o Waitangi , notably the Tūhoe and some Waikato tribes, who were deeply suspicious of colonial Britain.
Fearing colonisation Māori started refusing to sell land. Colonial settlers formed their own government under a UK Parliament Act in 1852, and by 1856, they achieved responsible government (ie responsible to voters not responsible to the Queen) . In response Māori formed the Kīngitanga movement and elected a king in 1858 to resist more alienation of land by the coloniser settlers and the new government. In response the New NZ Government went to war against Māori principally in the middle north island in 1860s, where Māori rights under the Te Tiriti o Waitangi were violently suppressed then passing legislation to confiscate (aka steal) their land .
Between 1860 and 1880, over 3 million acres of land were confiscated (aka stolen) from Māori in Waikato, Taranaki, and the Bay of Plenty. This was part of a broader effort to dispossess Māori of their land, along with using other devious legal mechanisms to continue this theft. This legislation, although legal by colonial standards, was unlawful, just as any form of colonization is.
In 1877, Judge Prendergast in Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington declared the Te Tiriti to be a nullity, citing the argument that it had been signed between a “civilized nation” and “savages.” While he was correct in condemning the colonial settlers as savages for their brutal war record during the Land Wars, his racist mind probably meant Māori which was a reflection of the colonizers’ mindset not justice or law.. This racist perspective persisted throughout the history of colonial New Zealand and still does as Seymour shows.
Further efforts to suppress Māori culture occurred under the Tohunga Suppression Act of 1907 and the prohibition of speaking te reo Māori in schools, eroding Sovereignty and forcing assimilation into coloniser settlers culture and liberalism , further breaching the Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
It took a long struggle for Māori to reclaim some of their rights, culture, and respect, with partial remedies for colonization beginning after the 1975 Land March, with the powerful slogan “Not one more acre,” marked a turning point in the fight for land rights. However, the scale of the land stolen by colonizers remains staggering. At today’s prices (February 2025), just the 3 million acres stolen from Māori in Waikato, Taranaki, and the Bay of Plenty would be valued at a staggering $114 billion. To date, treaty settlement payouts for all Māori only total $2 billion. This ongoing injustice leaves Māori still colonized and subject to the forces of capitalism that perpetuate poverty and crime.
On 18 November 2004, New Zealand Parliament, under the Labour Party, passed the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, which declared the foreshore title to be held by the “Crown”. Whoever the “Crown is – it could be NZ Government or the Queen as its undefined. Whoever they mean, neither of the “Crown’s” ever purchased the foreshore or seabed from Māori, as stipulated by law and the Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This makes the Act an unlawful act, further solidifying the ongoing colonization of Māori and their land.
In 2005, while in government, the National Party attempted to change the New Zealand flag through a referendum, which ultimately failed to gain the votes required for a change. We argue that this was also part of the broader pattern of colonization, as the New Zealand government has never been constitutionally formed—and still lacks a formal constitution—therefore lacking true consent from the people. The referendum, in my view, was an attempt to gain consent for the coloniser NZ Government.
Interestingly, it was the National Party that repelled Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, with the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 restoring customary rights to Māori in certain conditions. It was also National that signed NZ up to the UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Showing the complicated relationship between the right wing government and centre government isn’t as straight forward as ideology suggests. That both main political partys waver between keeping colonial settlers (the majority of NZ population) happy while trying to appease Māori without recognising Māori sovereignty in Te Tiriti and trying to impose government supremacy over Māori. ACT is simply more honest in its colonisation.
The Union Jack was used as New Zealand’s flag from 1840 until it was replaced in 1907 with the current flag, which still retains the Union Jack and four stars. The claim that New Zealand ceased being a colony and became a dominion in 1902 is questionable. The Statute of Westminster Act 1931 granted complete autonomy to the six dominions of the British Empire, yet New Zealand, along with Australia, delayed adopting this status until 1947. New Zealand supposedly took on full autonomy by passing the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947. It had to be a separate sovereign state to enter the United Nations.
Despite the failures of the Labour Party, they at least attempted to offer some form of co-governance under Jacinda Ardern’s leadership. Perhaps because of UNDRIP. During the 53rd New Zealand Parliament (2020–2023), the Sixth Labour Government introduced several co-governance policies and programs. These included the entrenchment of Māori wards and constituencies in local government, the rollout of the Three Waters reform programme, the creation of a Māori Health Authority (Te Aka Whai Ora), and the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023, which aimed to replace the Resource Management Act 1991. However, these policies attracted fierce opposition from the National and ACT parties, as well as from the Hobson’s Pledge lobby group and right-wing activists like Julian Batchelor.
Many voters voted for ACT in 2023, motivated by the party’s promise to end what they described as “special rights and privileges” for Māori. Often against their class interest, showing how populist this issue is with coloniser settlers and their descendants).This rhetoric is troubling, given that Māori continue to rank at the bottom of nearly every social measurement, including occupying 50% of the prison population, a consequence of colonization and the loss of their culture, land, and sovereignty. Māori today retain just 5% of their original land. This is not just a matter of historical injustice; it’s an ongoing violation of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi’s terms and the Queen’s obligations, as neither Queen or the coloniser NZ Government has yet to fully address the damage done by New Zealand’s colonial past.
Māori have long protested on the streets and fought a protracted legal battle in the courts as part of a sovereignty movement against the New Zealand government’s claim of sovereignty over Māori. The courts were beginning to lean in favour of Māori in these matters.
Seymour’s bill is a reaction to this. And, it intends to undo court decisions and put power back into the legislative branch of government reducing court power, making it a tool of government rather than a more independent arbitrator of government behaviour .
The fact that the New Zealand government has still not provided full restitution to Māori means that it remains a colonising government, regardless of which political party is in power. He Whakaputanga o Te Rangitiratanga o Nu Tireni and Te Tiriti o Waitangi remain standing as foundational documents of sovereignty and partnership with the Queen, which exposes the ongoing lack of jurisdiction and legitimacy of the New Zealand government in the eyes of Māori.
The only legitimate and lawful version of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi, in Māori, clearly states in Article 2 : “The Queen of England agrees to protect the Chiefs, the subtribes, and all the people of New Zealand in the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship over their lands, villages, and all their treasures.”
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/read-the-Treaty/differences-between-the-texts
That means all of Māori society is sovereign as those 3 things cover all Māori society.
Furthermore , He Whakaputanga o Te Rangitiratanga o Nu Tireni set up the Northen tribes government and nowhere in the Te Tiriti of o Waitangi was that explicitly taken away.
In 2014, the Waitangi Tribunal confirmed this declaring that Māori never ceded sovereignty, reinforcing the fact that the Te Tiriti o Waitangi was an agreement of partnership, not a surrender of Māori authority or governance.
Now let’s look at ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill
Here is the preliminary rough draft bill of ACT’s proposed Treaty Principles Bill which consists of three articles:
Article 1 The New Zealand Government has the right to govern all New Zealanders.
Article 2 The New Zealand Government will honour all New Zealanders in the chieftainship of their land and all their property.
Article 3 All New Zealanders are equal under the law with the same rights and duties.
First what is a New Zealander ? If Māori are sovereign as they stipulate then they aren’t citizens of the NZ government or New Zealanders.
ACT is a liberal party and the most right wing economically with its neo liberal ideology. It probably shares the title of being the most right wing with it’s coalition partner NZ First, with it’s family values , nationalism and tough on crime policies which are very socially conservative (although there are other conservative partys based on christianity , they don’t make the 5% threshold nor have a voice).
Liberalism is an idea that came out of the French revolution , that gave us the terms left and right. The right sought to maintain the existing power structures. Liberalism is government protecting individual rights of life, liberty and private property, with the right of private property being the basis of capitalism. Liberalism is capitalism when talking economically . Hence why we live under neo liberalism economically today, whereas socialism is the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange . And Conservatism is the halting or slowing of progress and maintaining old outdated institutions , including Christianity.
What must be understood is these ideologies all have different views of human nature and freedom at their base that the government style and economy is built on. Liberalism is the only one with rights . That is, rights are a liberal western construct.
Socialism stands to the left of liberalism because it has the most positive view of human nature and aims for progress with freedom and autonomy where we collectively ensure that everyone’s needs are met and our communities thrive, while conservatism which stands to the right of liberalism has the worst view of human nature and has no rights and no freedom and is the opposite of progress. Fascism is an offshoot of conservatism. Initially as liberalism was new and considered radical and progressive it was left wing but as liberalism and its economic system capitalism gained strength and domination becoming the status quo liberalism moved to the right.
Why is this history lesson important ? First because it and colonisation is not taught anywhere, thus making debates like thus impossible to be fair and honest , being from a colonial settlers point of view. Because without full information it’s easier to control the population and direct their choice and vote especially when the existence of government and immigration relies on meeting vested interests (in this case via ACT’s promises).
Now why does all this matter ? Because NZ is referred to as a liberal democracy. and a constitutional monarchy. And, it is neither.
Firstly, a liberal democracy requires consent by the people which is usually in the form of a constitution. NZ along with the UK does not have a constitution. While there are claims that NZ has one, albeit in many documents, the NZ Government was only constituted by the rich land owners not the public at large. Males did not get the vote until 1879 and women in 1893. And most Māori were excluded by colonial legislation that formed part of the land grab. The bill of rights for people didn’t even exist until 1990 , 138 years after the NZ Government was first formed.
Secondly NZ does not remotely fulfil the basis of a liberal democracy as outlined by John Locke in his two Treatis of Government here ie government could only exist on the basis of a social contract and it’s job is to provide life, liberty and private property to individuals . The NZ Government does not provide a social contract as it looks after the rich and powerful not the people.
As James Connolly said ; “Yes friends , governments in capitalist society are but committees of the rich to manage the affairs of the capitalist class”
That is why wealth inequality and debt and social issues like poverty and the impact of climate change is continuing to grow to dangerous and unsustainable heights.
And 3rdly and most importantly – NZ IS NOT A LIBERAL DEMOCRACY because THERE IS A TREATY BETWEEN MAORI AND THE QUEEN. It is a partnership. This treaty (Te Tiriti o Waitangi ) gave rights to Māori and rights to the Queen and they are not the same rights.
In fact Māori are socialists traditionally prior to colonisation, or if you want to be more specific they were communists. They had no state , no private property, no money they shared roles and jobs collectively. The NZ coloniser government and settlers were liberals . This is a clash of ideologies which only mutual co-operation can manage and it must be dealt with under the law.
Seymour through ACT is trying to deal with it by finishing the colonisation project by by-passing Te Tiriti and making the NZ Government sovereign over all peoples of Aotearoa including Māori , (depending on your definition of New Zealander) and removing Te Tiriti as a founding document under the law . This will mean not only preventing Māori from having their sovereign rights under the Te Tiriti o Waitangi but also expanding liberalism across the whole of NZ and all people.
Is this the reason why the Labour party, even though it has ‘to educate about democratic socialism’ as its 5th goal in its constitution , has failed to do so in 6 terms in government and has wilfully neglected to change the school curriculum?
The current debate is pitting the coloniser settlers and their offspring against Māori in a more confrontational way, necessitating Māori again need reassert their rights and sovereignty under the Te Tiriti o Waitangi in whichever manner necessary.
Māori have always argued they never ceded sovereignty , and this was confirmed by the Waitangi Tribunal in 2014 and this is clear . They just didn’t have enough guns to hold that sovereignty.
There is no debate to be had Seymour while claiming to be Māori is a kupapa ie part of the colonising government . He’s not trying to change the Te Tiriti o Waitangi, as he cannot . Neither ACT or the coloniser NZ Government are a party to that treaty and they would need Māori agreement to change it and real Māori won’t agree .
This is as much a political stunt and campaigning by ACT to get more votes from white settler immigrants [and offspring] because they do not have new policies in todays neo liberal economic mess , just more of the same neo liberal nonsense. Seymour as Associate Minister of Education (partnership schools) boasts of new Māori private schools under his privatisation policy’s yet he’s also hiding the truth of colonisation and real purpose of his bill from Māori, miseducating them, as well as every one else. Seymour’s and ACTs real goal is total privatisation and destruction of the whole public education system. The very thing Nordic countries and NZ do better at than USA. In fact what got National, ACT & NZ First voted into government in 2023 was they were not NZ Labour, neaning Labour lost, National did not win . The current government is based on populism. What does Seymour’s coalition partner NZ First say ?
Winston Peters NZ First leader , another kupapa, explains his and NZ First Party’s stance on ACT Party’s Treaty Principles Bill. This basically amounts to the fact that he’s against ACTs Treaty Principles Bill , but not for the right reasons . Because he argues there are no principles in the Te Tiriti o Waitangi which produces a different set of problems .
Of course Peters is lying . In order to hear Māori claims under the new 1975 Waitangi settlement Act which was set up by the coloniser NZ Government – they created some principles . Now these are principles designed by the NZ Government and are not principles of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi as they do not uphold article 2 of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi . They were for purposes of treaty settlements controlled and limited by the NZ Government . Remember in 1975 Māori couldn’t even make claims for land stolen prior to 1975. That was changed later.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principles_of_the_Treaty_of_Waitangi
The Court of Appeal, in 1987 in a judgment of its then President Sir Robin Cooke, decided upon the following treaty principles:
- The acquisition of sovereignty in exchange for the protection of rangatiratanga.
- The treaty established a partnership and imposed on the partners the duty to act reasonably and in good faith.
- The freedom of the Crown to govern.
- The Crown’s duty of active protection.
- The duty of the Crown to remedy past breaches.
- Māori to retain rangatiratanga over their resources and taonga and have all citizenship privileges.
- Duty to consult.
In 1989, the fourth Labour government – that gave us neo liberalism- adopted the Principles for Crown Action on the Treaty of Waitangi. Prime Minister David Lange in an introduction to the document said of the principles that:
They [the principles] are not an attempt to rewrite the Treaty of Waitangi. These Crown principles are to help the Government make decisions about matters related to the Treaty. For instance, when the Government is considering recommendations from the Waitangi Tribunal.
They were listed as
- The Kawanatanga Principle – The Principle of Government
- The Rangatiratanga Principle – The Principle of Self Management
- The Principle of Equality
- The Principle of Cooperation
- The Principle of Redress
The New Zealand government still hasn’t been held to account. Full or even fair restitution has not been paid to make up for what they did so Māori can get back to managing their own affairs instead of participating in a coloniser system. Which is why they are referred to as the NZ coloniser government not just the NZ Government – we should be very clear it’s a still a coloniser government. It just hasn’t finished the project. But ACT wants to.
Given ownership and sovereignty over their lands, resources and people – you can’t have “crown” having governorship over Māori when they have sovereignty . This is why Māori take it the Queen in Te Tiriti o Waitangi was meant to govern her own people and Māori theirs – that was the whole purpose of inviting the Queen to look after and discipline her settlers, later coloniser settlers.
Nonetheless Seymour is trying to redefine the principles and put them into legislation so as to finalise colonisation, taking any question of Māori sovereignty away by giving NZ Government greater power but not through the law or a a lawful process.
Māori naturally oppose this process and so do many pakeha and other kiwis. For a view on how Māori see it read this presentation by Susan Healy here taken from a presentation she gave.
Lets discuss some of the lies Seymour is saying about Te Tiriti o Waitangi and his bill
Here Seymour lies when hes says it strengthens Māori rights and the Te Tiriti o Waitangi in legislation in his opening sentences. He confuses individual self determination with Māori sovereignty. Nor does article 2 say all new Zealanders – his bill does. He’s literally bypassing Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori rights under it, thereby reducing Māori rights.
Here Seymour lies at a press conference after a protest saying “The Treaty promised equal rights” .
Again, Te Tiriti o Waitangi DID NOT promise equal rights.
Here he lies and gaslights about colonisation:
@8 minutes in he makes a fallacy argument here – I have to paraphrase the argument as it is so incoherent it won’t make sense otherwise : We had slavery and no gay rights until we decided we needed to stop oppressing one group at the expense of the other by privilege, which is what the Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership does, hence the need to implement liberal democracy.
Of course it’s utter nonsense.
Slavery and it’s accompanying scientific racism were oppression by the white western Christian colonisers of which this NZ Government is. (we know Seymour meant Western because he mentions 1792, about when France in its 1st revolution ended slavery) . The oppression of LGBTQ+ was led by a society (majority white) with christian conservative beliefs . Liberal democracy didn’t help then because one group had an agenda just like this government does now. The very government Seymour wants to empower by giving total liberal democracy to in NZ is the one that did and is doing the oppressing . Te Tiriti partnership is the saviour not the problem – keeping Te Tirity alive as law prevents oppression and liberal democracy and one law for all forced on Māori by the NZ Government and kupapas like Seymour.
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In this article Seymour claims
“It is a document that founds New Zealand as a country, where in Article 1 the government has the right to govern, in Article 2 we each have the right to tino rangatiratanga – the right to flourish in self-chosen ways – and in Article 3 we all have nga tikanga katoa rite tahi, or the same.”
These 3 points he claims the Te Tiriti document means, just happen to line up with his bill principles. But these are lies because the Te Tiriti o Waitangi said in article one the Queen could govern. Parliament didn’t exist at Te Tiriti o Waitangi signing. This acknowledges Māori didn’t give sovereignty away.
He’s also lying about Tino Rangatiratanga – that’s not what it means -it means of the Māori people over themselves. Not individuals in a liberal democracy he wants to create. He’s trying to manipulate people by conflating the meaning of Tino Rangatiratanga for Māori as a nation with individual rights under a liberal democracy, which is an opposing ideology.
Another big issue is when he has said repeatedly, quoting his parliamentary debate, about ¼ way down;
“The bill does something else, and that’s the answer: it democratises the principles of the Treaty. It gives everyone a say.”
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20241114_20241114_40
Yet more egregious lies.
Lets look at the voting stats and what that means to Seymours claim of everyone getting a vote.
As of January 31, 2025, the total number of people enrolled to vote in New Zealand is 3,647,197, This includes both the general roll (3,351,438) and the Māori roll (295,759). Representing 89.02% of the estimated eligible population of 4,096,874. The total population of “NZ” is around 5,2 -5.3 million. (these are extrapolations of 2018 official census of 4,699,755) Enrolled to vote is about 70% of the population so everyone already excludes 30% of “New Zealanders”. Those that voted in the last election where 2,851,211. Meaning coincidently only 70% of those eligible to vote voted. This means 54% of the population voted. Of those 1,505,877 voted for any of the coalition partners that made government . That’s 52% of the voting population but only 36.8% of those entitled to vote. That is hardly a mandate in any form you judge it.
https://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2023/
Should National and NZ First reneg on their promise and the bill go further it will be decided in government and if it gets passed it will be by the ruling right wing coalition government. Ironically it is Seymour who is the Associate Minister of Justice who wants to disempower the court over cases were Māori cite the Te Tiriti o Waitangi as defence ie promote less justice. All from a party that got 8.64% of the vote of those that voted and 6% of those entitled to vote in last general election. Its like the tail wagging the dog. Further NZ has a whipping system where the MP must follow the party line not the MPs ethical or moral or their own choice.
Some points to remember: Firstly Te Tiriti o Waitangi was a partnership between two nations with different political ideologies. Te Tiriti o Waitangi wasn’t about democracy , that’s just coloniser talk . Secondly many Māori , at least those fighting colonisation, in order to preserve their sovereignty under the Te Tiriti o Waitangi don’t make contact with NZ Government including not registering to vote and won’t have a say. Thirdly liberal democracy has never given everyone a say, from the outset and has made no difference with full suffrage . Democracy just choses which political party rules for the rich and oligarchs . Lastly it disadvantages Māori , the very thing Seymour pretends it will fix .When 85% of the population are colonisers ie immigrants and descendants of immigrants , that required a coloniser government to meet their needs , then they have a vested interest in passing this bill , that disadvantages Māori. It’s again rule by the biggest gun, and the ie requires state violence to uphold the vote .
Seymour’s bill won’t change anything regarding the oppression of Māori but will allow erosion of policy and action NZ government has previously taken to lift Māori out of poverty and honour Te Tiriti in their limited way.
Seymour also said Nga Tahu Māori have sovereignty, this conflicts with claiming it’s not a partnership and Māori don’t have sovereignty for the rest of the North Island Māori and others in the top of the South island like Te Ati Awa.
Here’s the most true articulation of Seymour’s bill I’ve heard yet, similar to what we have said.
“A lot of the discussion we’ve seen from David Seymour around this bill is we have seen things which are a little bit contradictory or hypocritical, and … does indicate to me that he’s not actually interested in promoting a good faith conversation about Te Tiriti, but he’s actually trying to push a particular political agenda for his own political gain.”
Let us hope people see this as yet more racist Hobsons pledge ‘ one law for all’ coloniser nonsense and it goes no further .
KILL THE UNLAWFUL BILL
In the meantime we hope this Bill prompts questions on the very legitimacy of the NZ Government that these political parties and kupapa represent.
malcolm-daniel
Socialist Aotearoa



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