2023 Lawyer of the Year Natalie Coates discussed with LawFuel publisher John Bowie some of the key issues around recent political and legal challenges to issues involving Māori language and te Tiriti o Waitangi.

She said that proposed reforms in respect of Māori language and the discussions about te Tiriti o Waitangi require a ‘diplomatic reset’.

Natalie Coates advocated on behalf of Māori and others on human rights and indigenous rights issues, successfully invoking tikanga, in the landmark Supreme Court case on behalf of Peter Ellis, the former creche worker charged with sexual offending.

The relevance of tikanga in the law and its role in the justice system is one that has given rise to both controversy and debate, just as Treaty and language issues have recently become a central issue both within the legal system and within government generally.

She expressed her serious concern about what she says is the “alarming and divisive” approach to both the Treaty and te reo Maori by the government which she says undermines a foundational element of New Zealand’s constitution and exacerbates social divisions.

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The proposals have caused considerable distress for Maori, she says.

“Whilst Te Tiriti has always been subject to a degree of political ebb and flow, the proposed Te Tiriti reforms has the waterline possibly disappearing from view entirely.  

“The calls to read-down, remove or unilaterally redefine Te Tiriti in a manner that bears little resemblance to either text, is deeply concerning.  The suggested “hack and attack” approach is not only an assault on a cornerstone of our constitution but it also risks deepening the fractures within our social cohesion.  

“The last forty years has embroiled Aotearoa-New Zealand in an intensive nation building project.  This painful period has required us to confront our long history of dishonouring Te Tiriti and grapple with reconciliation and rebuilding a Crown-Maori relationship based on honouring our foundational bones,” she said.

Bringing Te Reo Back

Similarly, the need to ensure te reo is brought back from the ‘brink of extinction’ has been both a tiring and a difficult daily fight for many decades.  

“The direction to start shedding te reo from the Crown tongue and de-emphasising it from the Crown identity hurt in a way that surprised me.  It is not because I particularly care about agencies such as “Oranga Tamariki having a Māori name. 

“I think it is because we come from a context where generations of Māori (including my grandparents) were actively discouraged and sometimes physically punished for speaking te reo, as part of systemic Crown policies to assimilate Māori into European culture.”

Re-Opening Wounds

The government U-turn on the use of te reo risks re-opening wounds that have barely begun to heal, she says.

“At its heart, the measures seek to subordinate te reo Māori from our national identity and reaffirm English as the dominant and superior language.  This is a language that does not need protecting, it is already everywhere, all at once.”

She said that the use of Crown agencies having a Maori name or using te reo in salutations may appear to be trite symbolism, but it is not unimportant given the Crown’s historic suppression of te reo, she says.

The language is increasingly embraced within the justice system, by registrars, the judiciary and lawyers.  The use of te reo is, she says, part of our national institutions and the move represents a small shift to a Crown-Maori relationship that charts a more inclusive and embracing path in future.

“This path is reflected in the Māori Language Act 2016 and its 1987 predecessor (iterations supported by both sides of the political aisle) as well as Treaty settlements, where the Crown has apologised for their historical treatment and devaluing of te reo.”

The importance of the Treaty and the inclusion of the language are clearly a vital part of what she believes as an advocate and champion of indigenous rights.

“Te Tiriti o Waitangi has never been owned by the left or the right, but by us all.  A diplomatic reset is needed that reflects where we have come from and that invites a more thoughtful and informed conversation about an issue that strikes at the soul of who we are as a nation.”