F.O.L. adapts Treaty remit

Press, 11 May 1984, Page 4

F.O.L. adapts Treaty remit

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington A resolution calling on the Federation of Labour to support activities which questioned the celebration of the Treaty of Waitangi was rejected at the federation’s annual conference. But a more general resolution calling on Treaty celebrations to cease because they celebrated supposed equal rights and racial harmony which did not exist, was endorsed by the conference. The rejected resolution

was in two parts: “That the federation support those activities which question the celebration of the Treaty,” and “That the federation seek the advice of its Maori and Pacific Island advisory committee on the status and validity of any protests about this document, and that the advisory committee be asked to produce a document outlining a Maori trade union attitude to those matters contained in the Treaty document.” The federation’s president, Mr W. J. Knox, said

the remit had been rejected because the other (more general) remit covered the issue better. But the secretary of the Wellington Drivers’ Union, Mr J. Smith, said the rejected remit called for a series of documents explaining why the protests were being mounted, and asked that this part of the remit be left in. Mr N. Tangaroa of the Engineers’ Union said the information was needed to explain to those trade unionists and anyone else

who did not understand, why Maoris were angry about the Treaty, what the Treaty said, and what it did. “The Treaty of Waitangi is one of New Zealand’s greatest con jobs,” said Ms C. Vertongen, of the Clerical Workers’ Association. “Celebrating this sham is an outright insult to the Maori people,” she said.