Who are you calling racist? ACT candidate heckled over Te Tiriti

Summarised by Centrist

ACT’s Auckland Central candidate Antonia Modkova faced repeated heckling at a recent Auckland Central candidates’ debate after opposing different rights based on ancestry during a discussion about Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Modkova said ACT was proud of how New Zealand had addressed past wrongs through land settlements. But she opposed continuing with “two sets of people having two sets of rights, based on when their ancestors arrived”.

“That’s racist bulls***,” an audience member shouted.

Greens co-leader and incumbent MP Chlöe Swarbrick then joked: “ACT Party said land back!”

Labour’s Naisi Chen supported restoring Te Tiriti to the school curriculum and retaining the Waitangi Tribunal. Swarbrick called for “constitutional transformation” with Te Tiriti at its centre. Opportunity’s Johan Chang argued that constitutional reform should involve both the Crown and Māori.

The debate also covered housing, homelessness and small businesses. All five candidates supported a central-city night shelter and more police on the beat. 

Editor’s note: Many would consider unjustified differences in legal rights based on race discriminatory, however benign the intention.The strongest counterargument is that the Crown made promises to Māori under the Treaty and has to honour them. Others argue that race-based assistance can address disadvantages in ways that needs-based assistance cannot. 

But wanting everyone to be equal before the law does not make you racist. If ancestry gives people different rights, supporters need to explain why, where it stops, and how they avoid dividing people and building resentment.

Modkova acknowledged past wrongs and supported settlements to put them right. Her objection was to keeping different rights based on ancestry.

That does not mean ACT is right about every Treaty issue. But equal citizenship is a fair principle to defend. If you are going to call that racist, you need to explain why.

Read more at The NZ Herald

Receive our free newsletter here