Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
Labour and the Greens are congratulating Christian leaders for their condemnation of the Treaty Principles Bill, but ACT's David Seymour says it is not the first time the church has tried to prevent people from having a say on one of his policies.
"The first time being the End of Life Choice Act. Thankfully people were given the opportunity to make their own minds up then."
Seymour said he hoped the Treaty Principles Bill would be no different.
A draft version of the Bill is going to Cabinet on Monday.
Nearly 450 Christian leaders have signed an open letter calling on MPs to vote down the Bill.
It was released by Common Grace Aotearoa and signed by leaders from the Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Salvation Army and Vineyard denominations.
The letter appealed to all MPs not to let the bill progress to select committee.
"The proposed Bill is inconsistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi in that it does not recognise the collective rights of iwi Māori or guarantee their relationship with the Crown. It would undermine what Te Tiriti guarantees, and what decades of law, jurisprudence and policy have sought to recognise," it said.
"We affirm the Church's ongoing, special, and historic relationship with Te Tiriti o Waitangi which many Christians view as a sacred covenant."
In response, Seymour said his party believed all citizens should have equal rights, "not equal rights for some based on their ancestry".
"The Treaty Principles Bill and proposed referendum are needed to ensure a healthy debate on whether our future lies with different rights based on ancestry, or whether we want to be a modern, multi-ethnic liberal democracy where every New Zealander has the same rights."
In a post on social media Seymour said said the "core Christian principle of imago dei" automatically meant everyone has equal dignity, and the belief was at odds with the recent interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi.
"It would be unusual, to say the least, for two thousand years of Christian faith to be overturned by a one page Treaty signed by a few hundred people in one country," he said.
"If you wonder why church attendance and reported Christianity is in decline in New Zealand, today's display of church leaders abandoning a core, if not the core, Christian belief to play politics might be a clue."
Willie Jackson. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Labour's Māori development spokesperson Willie Jackson said Christian leaders coming together showed a real responsibility.
"I'm really pleased and congratulate them on their actions and their bravery ... this takes some courage, bravery, and they deserve to be complimented and supported, as far as I'm concerned."
He said it was significant that the different denominations had come together, and believed they could see that the Bill was a lie being perpetrated by the ACT Party.
"They tried to deny that Māori have indigenous rights, and that is a breach of tikanga, I think, for the churches. And so they feel an obligation and a responsibility to highlight that and good on them.
"It's a disgusting and dishonest bill. It flies in the face of jurisprudence and legal decisions.
"It flies in the face of governments [that] have chosen to adopt the Treaty principles from very learned judges, and it is just a total disgrace."
Jackson said in his view, it brought shame on the government.
"The Treaty principles were incredibly important," he said.
"They've been used by the courts and adopted by governments - National and Labour governments.
"So the lies that have been perpetrated by David Seymour and the ACT Party are just unbelievable.
"They are trying to deny Māori justice. That's what they're trying to do. They're trying to go against what courts have said, what governments have ruled on, and it really is the worst and most negative and most anti Māori legislation that has come up in my lifetime."
He said Māori would take the opportunity to organise against it, and that this government "should show some bravery, because this is a government who should throw this Bill out now".
Hūhana Lyndon. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
The Greens' Māori development spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon welcomed the open letter as another example of leadership in calling for the government to stop the Bill at the first reading.
"We've got historians, we've got the Waitangi Tribunal, we've got iwi, we've got church leadership all saying enough is enough, and the divisive narrative that will be perpetuated through the Treaty Principles Bill is really risky to the well-being of our country and undermines the foundational document that is Te Tiriti o Waitangi."
Lyndon said the unity seen in the public statement was something special.
"I'm reading the list of leaders that have come from across religious groups. I mihi to them. It's a diverse group, but they all stand in unity."
Lyndon said the widespread opposition to the Bill went to the heart of the constitutional foundations of the country, being Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the "widespread concern that the Treaty Principles Bill will have on our communities, on the way that we structure ourselves within government, and the impact that will have locally in our communities.
"Because we've come so far. We're doing so well in community with hapū iwi relationships, Crown, council, and then we have this coming at us.
"So I think it's just another example of a government who's out of touch with the rest of New Zealand."
Lyndon said she was grateful the church leaders had come out so strongly, adding that it demonstrated the deep commitment many had in terms of upholding the centrality of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
A spokesperson for Christopher Luxon said the prime minister had been clear that National would honour its coalition agreement with ACT to support the Treaty Principles Bill to select committee.
"But we will not support the Bill beyond that and therefore it will not become law."