"Committed"

Over the weekend 10,000 people turned out to a hui at Tūrangawaewae to oppose the government's racism against Māori and its racist plans to Vader - or effectively repeal - Te Tiriti o Waitangi. National's response? To wheel out Nicola Willis to claim that the government are "committed to th[e] relationship that the Treaty of Waitangi promises ":

In response however, National MP and Finance Minister Nicola Willis told RNZ's First Up it was clear the Treaty of Waitangi established a foundational relationship between the Crown and iwi.

"It is our founding document as a nation. How that relationship works in practice is something that the courts have likened to being like a partnership," she said.

[...]

"Our government is very committed to progressing results for Māori and we're committed to that relationship that the Treaty of Waitangi promises.

Which invites the question: if they're so committed to this relationship, why are they trying to destroy it? Because that's what their racist Treaty Principles Bill does - replaces the Treaty partnership with a colonial one of dominance and subordination.

If National were truly "committed" to the Treaty relationship, they wouldn't be advancing this bill. They wouldn't be voting it to select committee. They'd have recognised immediately that seeking to unilaterally redefine the relationship in a one-sided manner was not consistent with the text or spirit of Te Tiriti, and that even attempting to do so would fundamentally delegitimise the New Zealand state. They would have told ACT that they would not support it, would not allow it to be presented as a government bill, and that they would vote against it if it was drawn from the member's ballot. The fact that they did not do that, and have instead decided to test the waters on white supremacy, tells us how "committed" they actually are: not at all.