Kia ora koutou, Members of the Select Committee considering the “Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill”.

The Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa/New Zealand (ASAA/NZ) strongly opposes the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Our membership is diverse; it includes Māori, Pacific peoples, Pākehā, ethnic migrants, immigrants, tertiary students, emerging and established researchers, professional anthropologists working outside of academia, as well as Emeritus Professors. We coalesce as Tangata Tiriti and Tangata Whenua.

Our national organisation adopted a preamble to its code of research ethics in 1991. This establishes te Tiriti o Waitangi as the ‘foundation stone’ of anthropological research undertaken in Aotearoa and recognises the rights of Tangata Whenua as Indigenous peoples:

Ko tā mātou ngā mema o ASAA/NZ, he ū ki te Tiriti o Waitangi hei tūāpapa o te motu whānui o Aotearoa.

Ko tā mātou ngā mema o ASAA/NZ, he hāpai i te mana whenua o te iwi Māori o Aotearoa, o Niu Tireni.

We, the members of the ASAA/NZ, are committed to the Treaty of Waitangi as the foundation stone of Aotearoa New Zealand as a nation.

We, the members of the ASAA/NZ, recognise the rights of the tangata whenua as the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. https://www.asaanz.org/code-of-ethics

We are extremely concerned that the Treaty Principles Bill, alongside other legislative and policy changes mooted (or already enacted) by the current coalition government, seriously challenge the progression towards ethical research practices formalised in Aotearoa, particularly over the last three decades. We note that the ASAA/NZ ethical principles guide our membership, as well as international colleagues and overseas students who undertaken ethnographic research in Aotearoa. The Treaty Principles Bill’s attempt to reinterpret legislation, alongside its libertarian ethos, is in direct contrast to this work.

We address four main concerns in this submission: the notion of equality, te Tiriti partnership, social cohesion, and New Zealand’s international reputation.

Equality vs equity

Proposed principle 3 presents an idealised view of equality that invisiblises the colonial history of Indigenous land and resource alienation, violence, and the resultant plethora of structural inequities now faced by Māori whānau, hapū and iwi. That is, an emphasis on equality in the present, as presented in the proposed principle 3, ignores the current drivers of systemic social disadvantage. In contrast, an equitable approach acknowledges these unequal starting points and seeks solutions which address systemic barriers and facilitate fair outcomes. The Bill thus effectively leads to discriminatory outcomes, the very opposite of what it purports to address. Similarly, the potential for a referendum on the Bill, as encouraged by ACT (a minor coalition partner), misconstrues the basis of democracy and the protection of minority rights enshrined in this form of governance.

This historic amnesia is also apparent in New Zealand Parliament’s online information “About the Bill”. This only refers to the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. Notably, the 1975 Act applied to issues arising after 1975, while its replacement, the 1985 Treaty of Waitangi Act, applied retrospectively to 1840. This oversight repeats the obvious errors of the1975 Act in its disregard of contraventions of the Treaty especially between 1870 (when it was declared a nullity) until the 1980s, when New Zealand courts began recognising its significance again. This century of neglect led to major land loss and impoverishments for Māori, a fact ignored in the 1975 Treaty of Waitangi Act and repeated in the current Bill. The online information on the Bill also misleads by misrepresenting the implicit recognition and acceptance of court rulings on the principles of the Treaty by Parliament since the 1980s, stating that its purpose is to now set out the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in legislation.

Partnership

Our members are adamantly opposed to the distortion of history represented by the Principles of the Treaty Bill and express their disdain for the state of social amnesia it encourages by celebrating a heroic version of an imperial past. Treaties are by definition a relationship wherein power is balanced between two or more sovereign nations. The Treaty Principles Bill, which was written in the absence of consultation with Māori iwi and hapū, denies the foundations of co-governance, co-management and collaboration inherent to the 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This breach of partnership has wide reverberations; it undermines the future possibility of trust between the Crown and Māori, renders precarious the foundation upon which Tangata Tiriti identify as citizens of Aotearoa, and calls into question the legitimacy of parliamentary democracy.

Social Cohesion

We observe with trepidation the association between the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill and the rise of discord and divisive speech in Aotearoa. While accelerating social division appears to be the hallmark of many post-Covid societies, this is certainly not inevitable and research shows that a failure to address divisions in a timely manner has wide ranging economic, health, justice, law and order and social consequences, including an overall inability for citizens to thrive. That the Treaty Principles Bill is identified by many expert commentators as actively stoking discord should be sufficient reason that Parliament abandons it in its entirety.

International reputation

We appeal to the coalition government’s concern for New Zealand’s international reputation and our previous standing as progressive in our recognition and interpretation of Indigenous rights. While we acknowledge that this record is far from perfect, the trajectory over the last four decades has been at least one of incremental progress and in this New Zealand was recognised as a world leader. That this international standing has so rapidly been put in jeopardy is of deep concern to our members. The immense scope of legislative upheavals which discriminatorily impact Māori already undertaken by the current coalition government, crucially undermine our international commitment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, signed in 2010. The consequences of this regression, however, will also impact New Zealand’s attractiveness for international research collaborations and funding, the recruitment of overseas students and our national ability to generate innovative and creative solutions to contemporary social ills. In short, the Treaty Principles Bill should be immediately revoked.

Signed: The Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa/New Zealand

(pdf version here)

Many thanks for the collaborative effort of Julie Park, Mona-Lisa Wareka, Michelle O'Toole, Sebastian Lowe and Steve Webster. 

The Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa/New Zealand (ASAA/NZ) is dismayed by the government’s decision to abolish the Marsden Fund’s Social Sciences and Humanities panels. We are deeply concerned by the extent this will set back the affected disciplines and New Zealand’s research environment as a whole. We ask that this arbitrary decision be reversed with immediate effect.

It is particularly alarming that the decision was taken in total absence of public consultation, with no evidence to support the implication that social science and humanities research does not contribute to “enhancing New Zealand's quality of life” (Collins, 4 Dec 2024).

The sweeping measures will have multiple, rippling effects. They eliminate the principal source of contestable research funding for a vast array of disciplines crucial to the betterment of our society. Social sciences and humanities research illuminates human behaviour, cultural diversity, history, demographics, politics, social cohesion and much more. It contributes to policy decision making at all levels and stimulates informed, intelligent public debate.

Many thousands of articles and hundreds of books accessible to the public have been researched, written and published with support from Marsden Fund humanities and social science grants. For example, over the past few years these include titles on biological economies, truth and reconciliation processes in the Pacific, and new Chinese immigrants in New Zealand. These are by researchers “who are looking to create a better country for us all” (Collins, 4 Dec, 2024). To stem the flow of such work is a disservice to our nation.

For decades, the Marsden Fund has been the gold standard of research funding in the social sciences and humanities, involving multiple levels of peer review to ensure that research proposals meet rigorous local and global academic standards. The threat to this funding source will seriously jeopardise New Zealand’s standing and competitiveness in the international research community. It will also lead to a decline in research-led teaching, impacting the quality of education that tertiary students receive. This is not only a disservice to our national student body but will also have consequences for the attractiveness of New Zealand universities to international students. In addition, many graduate students in the social sciences and humanities have benefited from scholarships derived from Marsden grants. To close off this mentoring and supervisory pathway stifles the next generation of scholars.

ASAA/NZ is especially concerned about the impact of the changes on Māori research and the reframing of research value as one attuned solely to economic growth and scientific pragmatism. The core issues we face as a society – from ensuring an effectively running health system to addressing climate change – are complex and require diverse disciplinary perspectives. Technological fixes alone cannot solve societal problems. Understanding human behaviours, systems, cultures, norms and actions is essential. Indeed, to prioritise a purely economic or scientific disciplinary approach, is to misunderstand how contemporary research and researchers operate as well as to misconstrue the modern world and human experience.

We implore the government to rethink and reverse its decision.

(View the pdf of the open letter here)

Since the new coalition government gained power in November 2023, we have witnessed a relentless assault on Māori institutions, culture, Te Tiriti o Waitangi rights, aspirations for sovereignty, co-governance arrangements, and people. As an organisation representing academics and students in Anthropology in Aotearoa New Zealand, we cannot remain silent while this attack on Indigenous peoples continues. ASAA/NZ unequivocally: 1) condemns the reactionary approach to Māori people adopted by the current coalition government; 2) affirms its support for the right of academics, students, and other citizens to oppose this regression; and 3) calls for the government to urgently halt its threat to Tangata Whenua and marginalised communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.

ASAA/NZ notes with apprehension the current coalition government’s appeals to populism –  an international reactionary politics focused on blaming migrants and marginalised communities for policy failures. In Aotearoa, this trend is most explicit in attacks on Māori, attempts to undermine the Waitangi Tribunal, and criticisms of the competency and functioning of the judiciary. It is also apparent in cabinet ministers’ pronouncements that “we are all Kiwis,” a standardisation that denies cultural diversity and the violence of colonial histories. We note that the Waitangi Tribunal has international recognition, and that its work over the last half century is strongly implicated in Aotearoa New Zealand’s reputation as progressive in its advancement of Indigenous reparations and rights. The current government’s turn towards populism damages this global standing by appealing to race-based politics and by repeating colonial patterns of discrimination.

ASAA/NZ is concerned with this government’s move to dismantle hard won aspects of social welfare provision, health initiatives, educational policies, and the revitalization of Māori language and culture. We are also concerned with the move to negate hard won environmental regulations, policies and protections in a misguided attempt to generate economic growth in an era of environmental demise. We note that these assaults are particularly devastating to Māori whose collective action over decades has afforded many of the progressive environmental and social policies New Zealanders enjoy.

As scholars and students of Anthropology, we know that governance regimes which target Indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups in lieu of progressive policies, exacerbate lines of inequality, undermine democracy, and generate social unrest. While the voice of ASAA/NZ may be a small one, we raise our concerns here in the interests of upholding the ethos of equality, fairness and generosity that Aotearoa New Zealand, at its best, represents.

Signed,
The Executive Committee, on behalf of the Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa New Zealand

(View the pdf of the open letter here)

AN OPEN LETTER TO AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND POLITICAL LEADERS

The Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa/New Zealand, as a community of researchers, academics, educators, and students, call on New Zealand political leaders to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israel’s military assault on the peoples of Palestine.

As a discipline that is intellectually and politically concerned with settler colonialism, structural violence, racism and apartheid, we oppose in the strongest terms the state of Israel’s brutal oppression of Palestinian peoples and its unlawful occupation of Palestinian lands. As people trained to understand the workings of occupation, land theft, and power, we recognise the current conflict as part of a much more enduring series of injustices against Palestinians. 

We also recognise that framing the violent decimation of Palestinian families as Israel’s “right to defend itself” obscures this history of colonial occupation and conflict, and denies the escalating severity of Israel’s military force on Gazans this past fortnight. The language selected to describe violence enables different possibilities for action and care. We call on our political leaders and media to address what is happening in clear and accurate terms.   

The world is witnessing an internationally sanctioned genocide. We stand in solidarity with Palestinians, and we ask our leaders to do the same. Over and above the ‘humanitarian pause’ already called for, we urge you to demand an immediate ceasefire, and commit long term to supporting the liberation of Palestinian people. Locally, we also wish to add volume to the calls for support and security that Islamic and Jewish communities have made, in relation to threats that these communities have received in Aotearoa. 

We encourage others in our communities in Aotearoa to continue to educate themselves about the historic and current violent consequences of Israel’s expansive occupation of Palestine, to communicate with their local representatives, and to attend events that are accessible to them where these concerns are vocalised. 

Signed,
The Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa New Zealand

We, the members of ASAA/NZ, recognise the importance of human beings throughout history coming together in times of crisis to confront threats to their societies, their wellbeing and their environment. Today the greatest existential threat confronting humans everywhere is the climate crisis, which we ourselves are largely responsible for creating. In order to envision and attain a sustainable future, we must acknowledge the need for collective action. To that end, we as an organisation join others in declaring a climate emergency. In so doing, we pledge individually and collectively to work towards addressing the grave crisis confronting the climate and humans globally.

We see this as particularly important in this present moment as we imagine a post-COVID world. It is crucial that post-COVID recovery is grounded in a politics of sustainability and that any progress made ensures climate action stays front and centre.

As Anthropologists we know well the interdependencies between the environment, livelihoods, culture (variously understood), politics, and everyday life. To ignore the increasingly dire conditions under which we are living and to which our institutions and we as individuals are contributing, is no longer an option. The time for urgent action is now.

Through this declaration, we thus hope to highlight the mutually exacerbating effects of:

• extractive economic practices, their contribution to climate change and adverse impacts on livelihoods;

• people being made climate refugees;

• intensifying inequality;

• the threat to women’s reproductive rights and wellbeing in light of ‘overpopulation’ discourses and policies;

• the loss of homes, coastal communities and farms that are threatened by drought, flooding or sea level rise;

• the material and existential threat to children, childhood and young people;

• the threat to food systems;

• the loss of biological diversity;

• the threat to marine and freshwater environments and life; and

• local economies struggling to adapt to climate impacts.

In particular, while drafting this declaration from Aotearoa New Zealand, we recognise the role of Indigenous knowledge and ownership of land, sea and other natural resources in protecting biodiversity and mitigating species decline. We are also keenly aware of human wellbeing through our own trans-Pacific connections and local experiences of the climate crisis.

As social scientists, we recognise that the climate crisis is the outcome of institutional as well as individual behaviour, and that we cannot continue with ‘business as usual.’ We believe that actions to avoid threatened catastrophe must come from institutions, corporations, politicians as well as adaptations in lifestyles.

At the 2019 annual conference of Aotearoa’s anthropologists in Whāingaroa (Raglan), Waikato, we agreed that, as an organisation, we needed to respond to the climate crisis. A formal declaration of a climate emergency was unanimously ratified and approved by the ASAA/NZ membership at its November 2020 AGM.

To give effect to our declaration, we as a professional association commit to the following steps:

1. Devoting more research effort, policy input and informed public commentary to understanding, mitigating and adapting to climate change.
   

2. No-Waste, low impact conferences/meetings, in which:

   a) All cutlery and silverware will be non-disposable.

   b) Leftover food will not be discarded; we should aim to cater to exact attendee numbers and enable take-home options for members. Vegetarian meals will be the default, preferably using locally-sourced food and small-scale food providers.

   Exceptions will apply when we are collectively invited to a Marae, Temple, Mosque, or somebody else’s (private or collective) space in which it is inappropriate to dictate the conditions of our dietary requirements.
   

3. A digital attendance option for conference participants:

   a) Encouraging and enabling remote panel or single paper presentations with digital support. While we are aware of the large carbon footprint of digital technologies and cloud maintenance, we see this as one step in the right direction to counter the carbon emissions of air travel, and to increase the accessibility of our events.

   b) Encourage members and their institutions to propose local carbon offset programmes and tree planting initiatives.
   

4. Encouraging universities to support travel to the annual conference on public transport such as trains and buses and by sharing rides in cars when possible.
   

5. ASAA/NZ create and support a working group that pools knowledge and expertise to identify ways in which social anthropologists can have input into Aotearoa New Zealand local and national government policy development.
   

6. An attempt by conference planners, to encourage (via a note in the call for panels), at least one panel in each conference that is dedicated to discussing the climate crisis and the ways in which anthropologists and our collaborators are engaging with the issue.

We consider these to be starting points as opposed to the end of our individual and collective engagement on this pressing issue.

The call for Climate Emergency by ASAA/NZ was drafted by (in alphabetical order):

Courtney Addison
Nayantara Sheoran Appleton (Media Liaison)
Lyn Carter
Pauline Herbst
Jane Horan
Terrence Loomis (Co-Chair)
Sally McAra
Fiona McCormack (Co-Chair)