First day back in term 1 and we were right in the thick of it.
The treaty is a nationally significant document and much of the way we live life today is as a result of its signing.
Pakeha got the privilege of living in beautiful New Zealand and Maori, among other things, discovered the wonders of fish and chips and rubber jandals.
Simply put, William Hobson composed a treaty aimed at rectifying any previous wrong-doing as well as ensuring the protection of both sides.
The British signatories and the more than 500 Rangatira, envisioned a New Zealand where British and Maori lived in harmony and equality, where both sides shared in knowledge, trade and culture.
It sounds pretty ideal, doesn't it?
Fast forward 170 years.
By 2010 the vision of our ancestors has come true - sort of.
Te Reo is an official language and Kapahaka is alive and well in our schools.
Yet we have to face the truth that in many cases, the treaty has been ignored and dishonoured.
Land claims and foreshore and seabed disputes are common features in the news.
Alarming statistics prove there is a long way to go before we call ourselves one New Zealand.
Maori make up 14.5% of our population, but account for more than half of our total prison inmates, and 40% leave secondary school without any formal qualifications.
We need look no further to recognise that there are problems here that need addressing.
Thankfully, there are systems aimed at bridging these gaps: the Maori Party, Te Puni Kokiri, the Maori Women's Welfare League, and the recently conceived Whanau Ora are just a few.
You may remember Winston Peters making the remark "Why don't we have Pakeha Ora?" when advocating that such initiatives are racist and separatist.
Some may even agree with him.
But what we must understand is these are Maori solutions to Maori challenges - specialised support for those who need it.
And while the Whanau Ora will be suited to Maori family structure and culture, it will not help only Maori.
In fact, up to 40% of those who are helped are expected to be from other ethnic backgrounds.
Looking beyond the legal document, they work to support the friendship established in 1840.
After all, if one side is unhappy or disadvantaged, then the friendship is compromised.
The Catholic Church in New Zealand has always had a strong tradition of supporting treaty issues.
Since the arrival of the Catholic mission in 1838 it has striven to help and protect Maori as well as nurture a positive relationship between both sides.
Our first Catholic Bishop, Francois Pompallier, asserted that a clause be added to the treaty guaranteeing religious freedom, and many bishops since have played a role in treaty awareness and social justice.
Max Mariu, for example, our first Maori Bishop, was pivotal in the running of three Catholic Maori boarding schools, which not only aimed at educating but also strengthening faith and cultural pride.
Catholic charity Caritas plays a role in social justice and treaty awareness too; they openly admit that past instances of not honouring the treaty have affected Maori-Pakeha relationships and left Maori disadvantaged.
At a bishops' conference in 1995, the church stated that the existence of the treaty gives them their purpose in New Zealand, that "we hold in our hands a great treasure - the opportunity to create a society that truly honours the rights of its indigenous peoples".
What a powerful statement this is!What many countries have failed to do, quashing the rights and identity of their indigenous people, we still have the chance to rectify, and succeed.
But to do this, we need to support initiatives that provide welfare to Maori and encourage their success.
We need to respect Maori culture and make an effort to understand it.
But most of all, we need to understand and honour the Treaty of Waitangi, our nation's founding document, a fruit of the goodwill and hope of those who signed it.
- Sam Murphy
