107 Heed the call of Maranga Mai! Neither He Whakaputanga nor Te Tiriti granted full sovereign power to the Queen, the Crown, or the colonial settler government in Aotearoa. Rather the Crown received authority from Te Tiriti to govern its British citizens. The British used the Doctrine of Discovery as the initial basis for settling and claiming Aotearoa. The Treaty of Waitangi (English version) also enabled settlers to enter the country in large numbers and the Crown then subjugated Māori through warfare, unjust legislation, and the alienation of Māori land. This is the basis of the Crown’s governance of Aotearoa. The cumulative effect has been the wholesale undermining of tino rangatiratanga and selfdetermination for Māori. Law, policy, and whitedominated structures limit the freedom for Māori to design and shape their destinies as they see fit. Colonisation intended “that Māori were not to have agency over their destiny” (Ngata, 2021). The insights and kōrero of Maranga Mai! emphasise the need for constitutional transformation in Aotearoa, in nurturing the vision laid out in Te Tiriti o Waitangi over 182 years ago, and in restoring self-determination for Māori. The vision of tangata whenua is one where they have the rights, freedoms and rangatiratanga as exercised by their tīpuna at the time Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed. This is an Aotearoa where tangata whenua govern themselves and the Crown govern tangata tiriti. Rangatiratanga and kāwanatanga would exercise mana and authority within their spheres of influence, with a joint space for debating matters of mutual concern. The principles of reconciliation would underpin this vision, and be articulated through an anti-racist agenda, and direct action in response to racism and white supremacy. Together, these actions reiterate the call, Maranga Mai! Human Rights Commission

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