[The Constitutional foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand are being weakened through laws and political actions that diminish Māori rights, undermine Te Tiriti o Waitangi, reduce community participation, and erode protections for our environment and our people. As a descendant of Māori and settler whakapapa, I see growing harm to the relationships and promises our nation was built upon. This petition calls on the Crown, the King, the Governor General and all Crown representatives to uphold their responsibilities, protect tangata whenua, and honour Te Tiriti.]

Open Letter to the Crown |  He Pukapuka Tuwhera ki te Karauna.

To the Head of State, the Leader of the Commonwealth and Monarch of Britain, King Charles III,

To the Governor General as representative of the Crown in Aotearoa New Zealand,

To the Crown and its responsible ministers,

I write not on behalf of all Māori, but as a living descendant of Māori whakapapa and of settler whakapapa, carrying both histories and both responsibilities. I write as someone who stands on the whenua of Aotearoa New Zealand today and sees with clarity that the foundations our nation was built upon are being shaken.

Our ancestors entered into He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi with the Crown in good faith. These were not symbolic documents. They were constitutional agreements built on protection, partnership, shared authority and mutual respect. Māori upheld our side then and continue to uphold it now.

Today, however, a series of laws and political actions threaten the integrity of those agreements and the rights guaranteed to tangata whenua.

The disestablishment of Māori authorities that were created to close the gap in health, education and social wellbeing, including Te Aka Whai Ora, is one example of this regression. These institutions were built because the Crown had failed to deliver equity for generations. Removing them without genuine consultation ignores both the evidence and the obligations of Te Tiriti.

The removal of Māori visibility in public services, the weakening of te reo Māori within government, and the dismissal of mātauranga Māori in policy design further erode the cultural fabric that Te Tiriti promised to protect. Language loss has always been one of the greatest threats to indigenous survival. It is painful to see that threat re-emerging under Crown authority.

New legislation, including the Regulatory Standards Act and changes targeting co-governance, Māori wards, environmental protections and resource management, all move power away from communities and away from tangata whenua. These laws risk undermining kaitiakitanga, threatening land and water protections, reducing Māori influence in decision making, and enabling decisions that prioritise short term economic interests over long term wellbeing of people and whenua.

This pattern is not accidental. It reflects a wider shift toward political choices that silence Māori voices, weaken Treaty rights, and dismantle the progress our people have fought for over many generations. These choices are already contributing to social division, public hostility toward Māori, and open misinformation about our history, our legal standing, and our place in this country.

The Crown must know this.

The Crown must acknowledge this.

The Crown must act on this.

Under Te Tiriti and the constitutional inheritance of He Whakaputanga, the Crown remains responsible for the behaviour of its subjects in this land. When political leaders fuel division, when racism is normalised in public spaces, when rights are removed without consent, and when the integrity of Māori as tangata whenua is dismissed or attacked, these actions occur under the Crown’s watch.

As Māori, we will continue to uphold our responsibilities. We will continue to protect the whenua, the wai, our reo, our tikanga and our taonga. We will continue to carry our obligations to our ancestors and our mokopuna.

But we require the Crown to uphold its responsibilities as well.

This includes protecting Māori rights under Te Tiriti.

It includes ensuring fair and equal political representation.

It includes safeguarding our whenua, waters, taonga and identity.

It includes stopping legislation that harms tangata whenua.

It includes addressing the behaviour of Crown subjects who are destabilising our social cohesion.

It includes honouring the constitutional agreements that allowed the Crown to govern here in the first place.

The treaties have not changed. The obligations have not changed. Only the courage to uphold them seems to be shifting.

This open letter is written with clarity, with respect, and with the determination that comes from generations of resilience. It is a call for accountability from the Crown, a reminder of the promises that formed this nation, and an invitation to return to the principles that were meant to guide us all.

Aotearoa New Zealand stands at a turning point. The decisions made now will determine the future our mokopuna inherit.

To the Crown and its representatives, we ask you to honour your commitments.

To the people of Aotearoa New Zealand, we invite to add your voice, your korero to our open letter, with respect, decency and mana.

This kōrero belongs to all of us.

[By signing this petition, we call on the Crown in all its forms of representation, including the King, the Governor General, the Prime Minister and the ministers who exercise Crown authority, to take responsibility for the diminishing of mana for Māori, the erosion of Māori rights, and the weakening of Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitments. We ask that the Crown acknowledge the realities our communities are facing, listen to the people of this land, honour the promises that were made, and act with integrity for those who came before us and for the generations who will inherit Aotearoa New Zealand after us.]