Photo: RNZ / Patrice Allen
A prominent Treaty lawyer is questioning whether Richard Prebble's resignation from the Waitangi Tribunal was a ploy for media attention on behalf of the Act Party.
The former Act leader and Labour minister announced his resignation earlier today.
Prebble told RNZ he had become increasingly alarmed by the tribunal's decisions over the summer, but "it was only when I had the strategic plan drawn to my attention, about 10 days ago" that he choose to resign.
Treaty lawyer Annette Sykes said when she read the column announcing his resignation, she wondered why Prebble accepted the position in the first place.
She said that someone who takes on decision-making roles usually thinks about those positions before they are appointed, and if they think they are not suited to that position they usually decline.
"Of course Mr Prebble has links to the Act Party but was also somebody who supported the present Treaty Principles Bill, I had to wonder if it wasn't an effort by Mr Prebble to actually bring some media attention.
"I'm just left with a sour taste in my mouth, was this really only a media ploy on the part of the Act Party. If it is then it really shows how desperate they are."
Sykes said she had an issue with Prebble's comment that the Tribunal had "turned the Treaty upside down".
For the 150 years prior to the formation of the Tribunal, the interpretative framework of the Treaty had only been to the English version, she said.
"So yes, the Tribunal has turned Prendergast's statement of the Treaty is a nullity on its head, and quite rightly so, because the constitutional justice that they are directed to affect is about giving affect to the proper interpretation of Te Tiriti and the Treaty which I think they've done a sterling job of in the last 50 years."
In certain legislative contexts it is the Māori text of the Treaty that is given primacy, she said.
"As the Waitangi Tribunal has seen over the last 50 years you can't understand the true nuance and meaning of Te Tiriti without actually engaging principally with the text that was signed by the majority of the Māori rangatira in 1840 and following , and of course that's the Māori text."
Sykes said the Waitangi Tribunal had a number of significant matters before it this year and she was sure that it would act in a proper judicious way to find an appointment to replace Prebble.
"Like any court, people [have] just got to get on with their business and they have so much business to do, I just hope that this government maintains the funding commitment to them, maintains the obligation the Kāwanatanga has to ensure that they can get on with their business."
In a statement, Waitangi Tribunal chairperson Dr Caren Fox accepted Prebble's resignation and wished him well for the future on behalf of the tribunal.
"As chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal, I expect all members to undertake their own due diligence, to read reports, and understand the vision, mission and purpose of the Waitangi Tribunal before accepting appointment," she wrote.
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