How the Left keeps losing and the Treaty Principles Bill’s political fallout

Summarised by Centrist

According to political analyst Grant Duncan, the Treaty Principles Bill, which challenges co-governance and the role of treaty principles in New Zealand law, has Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori on shaky ground. 

Their opposition to the Bill has been marred by theatrics, including Willie Jackson’s explosive remarks and Te Pāti Māori’s haka protest, which drew both international ridicule and praise. 

“Centrist voters won’t embrace the prospect of a Labour/Green/TPM coalition if those parties keep performing like that – unless people can be persuaded to blame the Right for it all,” he writes. 

Duncan argues that the Left’s conduct is feeding perceptions of disarray while giving the Right a strategic advantage.

The Treaty Principles Bill has exposed deep divisions. 

National, balancing ACT’s referendum aspirations and coalition agreements, voted to advance the Bill to select committee but promised to block it at later stages. 

Meanwhile, Labour and the Greens lean on curated, elite legal opinions to justify their opposition, arguing that treaty principles are vital for addressing colonisation’s injustices. Critics, however, see their reliance on judge-made law as out of touch with public concerns. However, Duncan remarks: “…IPSOS polls reveal that Kiwis have other matters on their minds, like the cost of living and healthcare.”

Read more over at Politics Happens