Day after day spent listening to lawyers, activists and everyday people sharing their fears, expertise and hopes for the country can teach you a lot about Aotearoa, writes Lyric Waiwiri-Smith.

As the Treaty principles bill hearings drew to a close, there was one remark repeated by myriad submitters: that the Justice Committee should feel privileged to have heard these hours and hours of oral submissions – for the cultural insights into te ao Māori gained, for the breadth of our nation’s history learned, for the evidence of how such a controversial piece of legislation can affect us at an emotional, physical, spiritual and social level, even if it is destined to never pass.

It’s true: as someone who sat through most hearing days, that amount of cultural and historical knowledge gained far surpasses anything I learned from years of social studies classes at school – in hindsight, my understanding of the Treaty was just a drop in the ocean to what is the full picture. And with 542 submitters heard, you also gain a lot of insight into our communities, and who we are as New Zealanders. It also doesn’t hurt to gain a deeper understanding of the process of how a bill passes into law.

So, from demystified misconceptions to the select committee procedures to general observations, here’s (almost) everything I learned from the many hours spent at these hearings:

1. If the hearings are a good indicator of overall submissions, most submitters oppose this bill.
2. Although, you shouldn’t depend on the select committee process to provide a complete view of the country’s attitude towards the bill, because it leaves out those who sit on the fence.
3. Māori never ceded sovereignty.
4. The British likely weren’t seeking to usurp Māori sovereignty, anyway.
5. Despite this, Sir Apirana Ngata’s interpretation of the Treaty remains very popular with supporters of the bill.
6. As do New Zealand’s third chief justice Sir James Prendergast’s claims that the Treaty is “worthless” because it was signed by a “civilised nation and a group of savages”.
7. Back to Ngata – the former parliamentarian may have been the most quoted Māori throughout the select committee process. In the minds of a few of the bill’s supporters, it seems, he remains one of the few respectable Māori.
8. The two Treaty versions, te reo and English, aren’t necessarily at odds with each other.
9. Many of us still don’t understand the Treaty.
10. Many of us think we understand the Treaty, but we don’t.
11. Some New Zealanders see only the English version of the Treaty as being legitimate.
12. Yes, the Treaty does guarantee Māori – to use Act Party MP Todd Stephenson’s phrasing – “special rights”, but this doesn’t look like bypassing Pākehā in health and education. It just affirms the status of tangata whenua and their right to protect their whenua, moana and taonga.
13. Because of Treaty breaches and systemic inequality, many Māori feel they haven’t benefitted from these “special rights” to their full extent.
14. We definitely need equity more than individual equality in Aotearoa if we want to address systemic issues.
15. Unlike what I was taught in high school social studies, the Treaty isn’t necessarily a fundamentally flawed and contentious document – but the Crown’s response to it has been.
16. There is a supposed fourth article of the Treaty, a verbal promise that guaranteed religious protections, though its legitimacy is debated.
17. Most of us can generally agree that the principles laid out in the Treaty principles bill do not accurately reflect what was written in the Treaty or te Tiriti, or the likely intention of those signing it.
18. Anyway, we already have Treaty principles – they’re in the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, and were later codified through the courts in 1987. These principles are defined on a case-by-case basis, but revolve around three Ps: partnership, participation and protection.
19. Interpretations of these principles have largely been defined by the courts, rather than by parliament, despite it holding legislative supremacy. This is a big sticking point for the bill’s supporters.
20. Despite the promise of this bill not passing its second reading, many iwi are already rethinking their relationship with the Crown and their Treaty settlements, whether those are finalised or in waiting.
21. If you ever find yourself in the gallery seats at a public select committee hearing, do not interact with the hearing proceedings. You might get told off by the committee chair, or kicked out.
22. If you’re sneaky, you can eat snacks while you’re sitting in the seats. And use the water cart – it’s for everyone.
23. If you’re submitting on a bill, a fresh and unique perspective on the piece of legislation you’re opposing/supporting goes a lot further than something copy and pasted from a political party’s or advocacy agency’s website.
24. Also, the committee reads your written submission before you give your oral submission, so you can use your time to present a new idea, or just take questions.
25. Say your piece, but watch your language – you can’t use rude words or, say, call someone a criminal, as one bill opponent labelled David Seymour.
26. Speaking to the committee can be pretty nerve-racking. You’re allowed to bring a script and notes, or cancel your slot altogether if you have a change of heart.
27. You can also be invited to speak on a bill more than once, if you submit as an agency/organisation/business/entity/etc as well as an individual.
28. If you’re going to put yourself through a full-day hearing (first of all: why?) take a few walking breaks on the parliament lawns so your brain doesn’t break.
29. Listening to these hearings as Māori can be incredibly emotionally taxing, more so than for their tauiwi peers.
30. MPs who are not a part of the committee can take part in proceedings, but if their party whips don’t give the committee chair a heads up, someone else on the panel has to seek leave to let them speak – Te Pāti Māori’s MPs were caught out by this rule a number of times.
31. Just because it’s your bill, doesn’t mean you have to show up – Act Party Justice Committee members were no-shows for most of the subcommittee hearings into the Treaty principles bill.
32. MPs also have a code of conduct to follow in these hearings and meet beforehand to discuss expectations. The opposition parties’ members of the panel were called out a number of times over questions the chair deemed inappropriate.
33. Sitting MPs can submit on bills, but they won’t be called for oral submissions.
34. Being on the conservative side of politics doesn’t necessarily mean this bill will appeal to you, as displayed by submissions in opposition from Chris Finlayson and Dame Jenny Shipley.
35. Select committees can also give you an idea of what an MP is really like: their positions, who they like or don’t like, who’s gentle and who’s got a mean streak, and who’s OK with using Zoom while driving.
36. Government agencies can also submit on bills, but they need to talk with their minister first.
37. Media interest in these things can wane pretty quickly. On the first day of hearings, essentially every media outlet was in Room 3. In the final week, only Whakaata Māori and The Spinoff remained.
38. Statistics can show us who suffers most in certain areas such as health, but that doesn’t mean everyone believes they or their loved ones could become a statistic. One submitter who supported the bill didn’t believe his Māori grandchildren would be affected by negative health outcomes because they live in a comfortable home.
39. The bill is not simply a Māori rights v Crown sovereignty issue. Many communities that oppose the bill – from disabled New Zealanders to health workers and ecologists – are worried their personal lives and passions would be drastically changed by it.
40. This bill does genuinely seem to be creating division at a community level. Many Māori submitters spoke of the increased hostility they’ve experienced recently, while some Pākehā shared a real fear of being othered if the bill doesn’t pass.
41. Many Māori and Pākehā who are Gen X and older remember their childhoods differently. A number of the latter told the select committee they could recall a time when the two just got along, while the former tended to remember the opposite.
42. Our migrant communities are feeling the effects of the apparent rift between Māori and Pākehā. Bill supporters worried that without it, tensions would get worse, while opponents argued the opposite.
43. Many opponents of the bill expected the government to make an apology over it.
44. Many submitters were more worried about how the Regulatory Standards Bill would impact Treaty obligations than the Treaty principles bill.
45. Ruth Richardson “love[s]” The Spinoff. I know this because she told me.
46. There are so many good social workers and educators in this country trying to do what’s best for our tamariki.
47. There are so many good health workers in this country trying to do what’s best for New Zealanders.
48. There are so many New Zealanders who just want what’s best for each other.
49. There are so many good people everywhere in this country. Don’t lose faith.
50. Even if something feels painful to sit through, day after day, you can still miss it when it’s over.