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Chris Finlayson: Former Treaty Negotiations Minister on the Treaty Principles Bill being shut down · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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  Speaker 1: So the treaty principle was bill dead of the water.
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  Speaker 1: National kept their promise. They voted the bill down and
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  Speaker 1: at second reading there's been hiccoy. There's been a haka,
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  Speaker 1: there's been singing. Yesterday a Parliamentary Privilege Committee hearing, Minister
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  Speaker 1: for Mali Development Tama Portaker called it cremation day with
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  Speaker 1: me is Chris Finnis in former Minister for Treaty Negotiations
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  Speaker 1: International Government. Hello, Chris wedding Andrew your thoughts on the
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  Speaker 1: whole thing?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I don't think it's over. I think it's a
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  Speaker 2: foreteight of thot's to come. I think that we'll have
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  Speaker 2: an election campaign, presumably in twenty twenty six, when David
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  Speaker 2: Assumare will raise these issues again.
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  Speaker 1: He said it's very likely that a referendum is going
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  Speaker 1: to be a bottom line and any coalition agreements going forward.
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  Speaker 1: Is that a problem and as a referendum and excessively
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  Speaker 1: simplistic way to deal with the issue.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, it would be I think a prescription for disaster
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  Speaker 2: and division.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, the word division has been used a lot, but
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  Speaker 1: David said it wasn't about division, it was about unity.
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  Speaker 1: Has this been divisive and has it been damaging.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think that the problem really is that the
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  Speaker 2: principles of the treaty are quite different from the principles
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  Speaker 2: that he was advocating in his legislation. Many of the
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  Speaker 2: principles he advocated could ideally go in the preamble to
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  Speaker 2: the Constitution Act or something like that, but they don't
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  Speaker 2: reflect that the principles of the treaty. There are a
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  Speaker 2: different set of principles, and I think that's really what's
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  Speaker 2: irritated a few people.
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  Speaker 1: And new zim First has says it wants to modify
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  Speaker 1: this sort of treaty principles that we have already inside
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  Speaker 1: our legislation. Is it a better way of addressing the
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  Speaker 1: concerns that people have about the priority of Mali issues
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  Speaker 1: in public debate?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I do think there's a lot of lazy legislating
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  Speaker 2: that goes on. And I was telling someone yesterday I
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  Speaker 2: recall the discussion I had with Peter Sharpel's former Minister
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  Speaker 2: of Marii Development, when I was Minister for the Arts
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  Speaker 2: and was reviewing the Historic Places legislation. He wanted a
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  Speaker 2: more general treaty clause and I wanted a specific one
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  Speaker 2: in order to give effect of the principles of the
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  Speaker 2: Treaty in this legislation, decision makers shall do AB and
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  Speaker 2: six spell it out. So I think there's some legitimacy
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  Speaker 2: in the point that if you're going to have a
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  Speaker 2: treaty clause, there could be better definition.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Chris for listen, and I thank you for
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  Speaker 1: your time. This is Newstalks MB. Yes, I've got a
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  Speaker 1: text with Roger. David Seymour said he will seriously consider
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  Speaker 1: making a referendum on the treaty principle is a condition
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  Speaker 1: for any coalition agreement with the National at the next election.
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  Speaker 1: So as Christophins and Rtney says, this is not dead
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  Speaker 1: in the water. I said dead in the water at
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  Speaker 1: the beginning. It's not. It's going to keep on going
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  Speaker 1: and that's for sure.
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  Speaker 2: For more from Early edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live
• 3:02
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• 3:05
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