around, and so by 1839 the British government had
skinned people.]
sent instruction to obtain a cession of sovereignty from
rangatira, Maori chiefs, and to establish the sovereign
Today many Maori hold firm to the 1835 He Whaka-
authority of the British crown. This resulted in Te Tiriti
putanga and maintain that Te Haki Tuatahi is the first
O Waitangi; The Treaty of Waitangi, of 1940, which then
and legal flag of the sovereign independent nation of
usurped He Whakaputanga, The Declaration of Inde-
Aotearoa, and that the Crown is an illegitimate entity.
pendence, resulting in a change of flag, creating violence
This brings us back to today and the current referen-
and conflict between Maori and the Crown to this very
dum to change the colonial flag in the face of the Trans
day.
Pacific Partnership, a change in bank notes, and the
drawing up of a new constitution.
The Crown believes that in signing the Treaty of Waitangi, Maori gave up sovereignty and independence of New
Zealand. Maori of course hold firm that in their ver-
A change of flag needs the consent of the people, and
sion, Te Tiriti O Waitangi, they maintain their sovereign
the people are being tricked by the referendum because
independence.
the Crown needs consent and it’s not asking directly
whether the people would like an actual flag change;
However in 2010 He Whakaputanga me te Tiriti, The
rather it’s stating “IF the flag changes which flag would
Declaration and the Treaty: The Report on Stage 1 of
you prefer”. Once you give your preference, you have
the Te Paparahi o Te Raki in the Waitangi Tribunal
given consent to changing the flag; it’s all in the way the
Inquiry, gave this ruling:
language is used. The second part of the referendum
to be held in the New Year, then gives you the choice to
“…….We have concluded that in February 1840 the ran-
choose between the newly chosen flag or keep the old
gatira who signed te Tiriti did not cede their sovereignty.
one. Never does it ask you whether you want to change
That is, they did not cede their authority to make and
the flag. Once you choose a flag, whether it be a new
enforce law over their people or their territories. Rather,
one or the existing one, you have then given consent for
they agreed to share power and authority with the Gov-
it to be used to trade as we saw with Te Haki Tuatahi,
ernor. They agreed to a relationship: one in which they
the first flag. You have given it DUE AUTHORITY.
and Hobson were to be equal — equal while having different roles and different spheres of influence. In essence,
I would like to take a moment here and thank Mr. Ben
rangatira retained their authority over their hapū and
Vidgen, an investigative journalist with a B.A. in Politi-
territories, while Hobson was given authority to control
cal Science, and author of State Secrets I and II. He
Pākehā….” [Hapū means tribe and Pākehā means white
is the editor of Postman Productions. Ben’s research
TheSovereignVoice.Org