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New Zealand's support of United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous people comes with caveats.
Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples flew to New York without publicly revealing he was to make a speech overnight announcing New Zealand will sign up to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The previous Labour Government had refused to sign, saying it was incompatible with New Zealand's constitution, legal framework and the Treaty of Waitangi.
Also it raised concerns that indigenous people would have more rights than the non-indigenous.
In his statement, which cabinet minister Simon Power will re-read to parliament on Tuesday, Sharples set out areas where New Zealand will keep its own processes.
The statement of support says:
Maori held a special status as tangata whenua, the indigenous people of New Zealand, and had an interest in all policy and legislative matters;
New Zealand was committed to the common objectives of the declaration and the Treaty of Waitangi; and it reaffirmed the legal and constitutional frameworks that underpinned New Zealand's legal system, noting that those existing frameworks defined the bounds of engagement with the declaration.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully told Radio New Zealand that New Zealand has followed the lead of other countries in stating areas where it will not follow the non-binding declaration.
"This is the practice that's been adopted by other countries that have recently adopted the declaration as well; it's to adopt it in principal and then make it clear that there are some (aspects) of their national agenda that cause them to do things differently."
Sharples, also a Maori Party co-leader, says after negotiation his party and the government have come to a position they can both accept.
Sharples last month gave a speech in which he says issues affecting Maori had put pressure on his party's support arrangement with the government and says it had agreed to support the declaration, but with too many caveats attached.
On Tuesday morning Sharples seemed happy with the final outcome and is pleased with the standing ovation his speech received at the UN.
Sharples says the government has agreed to review the status of the Treaty in the country's constitution and that is about to happen.
The declaration recognises the rights of indigenous peoples to self-determination, to maintain their own languages and cultures, to protect their natural heritage and manage their own affairs.
New Zealand was, until now, one of only four UN member states opposed to the declaration, and Sharples says that had been "a great disappointment" to Maori.
In his speech to the UN's Forum on Indigenous Issues, Sharples says the declaration is "entirely consistent" with the Treaty of Waitangi.
"Today's announcement restores our mana and our moral authority to speak in international fora on issues of justice, rights and peace," Sharples says.
"It reflects well on the relationship between the National and Maori parties that this Government has been able to endorse this important declaration."
Prime Minister John Key says in a statement New Zealand has always supported the overall aspirations of the declaration and most of its provisions have already been implemented.
Key says supporting the declaration will not compromise the
fundamentals of the government's approach to resolving treaty
claims.
