ASIANS SUPPORTING TINO RANGATIRATANGA (ASTR) AND THE ASIAN LEGAL NETWORK (ALN) AGAINST RNZ

1. RNZ published a story on February 8, 2024, headlined The Treaty of Waitangi: The rifts of the past and the efforts of today. The story was written for Chinese readers on RNZ’s website and set out to explain what Te Tiriti is about.
2. Two groups complained – Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga and Asian Legal Network. The complainants’ main concern was with that the story’s explanation of kāwanatanga was inaccurate. They also said it was important to clarify that the English treaty was only signed by 39 Māori leaders (often in situations where the Māori one was unavailable), and 530+ Māori leaders signed the Māori text.
3. RNZ said it could not agree with the gist of the complaint which is that the article omitted to say that: “…Māori delegated kāwanatanga to the Crown to govern British subjects only, not Māori.”
4. RNZ said that while that was the belief of some who have studied Te Tiriti documents, it was not a universal interpretation of what was written.
5. The Media Council notes the story went to some lengths to explain the conflict between the English and Māori versions of Te Tiriti and how they have led to much debate. Its explanation of the meaning of kawanatanga, which is used in Article 1, is taken from the Waitangi Tribunal.
6. It is the Council’s view that RNZ was entitled to report the tribunal’s view on this subject and rely on it to be a credible authority on the subject. The circumstances and consequences of the signing of Te Tiriti have been the subject of long-running discussion. While it continues to be a subject of debate it has not been shown that the article was factually inaccurate.
7. Decision: No grounds to proceed

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