1 "The Queen … disclaims, for herself and for her subjects, every pretension to seize on the Islands of New Zealand, or to govern them as a part of the dominions of Great Britain, unless the free and intelligent consent of the natives, expressed according to their established usages, shall be first obtained."
Lord Normanby, British Secretary of State for the Colonies, British Government instructions to Captain William Hobson, 1839

2 "There never was land unclaimed in New Zealand. The boundaries of the properties of the tribes are defined and where they are not [defined] there are always disputes, not from want of claim but from the opposite thereof.."
Reverand Robert Maunsell, 1845

3 "According to the New Zealanders, New Zealand is like a ship which they own. All they’ve asked the British to do is help sail it."
Jean-Baptiste Pompallier, 1845-46 [At the time Pompallier spoke, New Zealanders meant Maori rather than settlers.]

4 "I repudiate with the utmost possible earnestness the doctrine maintained by some, that the treaties which we have entered into with [the Maori] are to be considered a mere blind to amuse and deceive ignorant savages … You will honourably and scrupulously fulfil the conditions of the Treaty of Waitangi."
Lord Stanley, British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Instructions to Governor George Grey, 1845

5 "Why then does the statesman of a mighty nation seek to confiscate the guaranteed possessions of our friends and allies? If such should ever happen, there could be no alternative but for the missionaries in sorrow to leave the country, broken and discredited men."
Archdeacon Robert Maunsell, Anglican missionary, protesting at the Secretary of State’s 1846 instructions for the Crown to take over all land not actually occupied by Maori

6 "[I]t cannot be too solemnly asserted that [Native title] is entitled to be respected, that it cannot be extinguished … otherwise than by the free consent of the Native occupiers."
Justice Chapman, Supreme Court judgment in The Queen v Symonds, 1847

7 "The Treaty of Waitangi, in the Maori text, expressly guarantees to the chiefs their full rights of chieftainship … the national compact, by which we obtained an entrance to these islands, binds us irrevocably as long as we retain the benefit of the contract."
Sir William Martin, Chief Justice, 1860

8 "It was said that that Treaty was to protect the Maoris from foreign invasion. But those bad scoundrels never came here to attack us: the blow fell from amongst you … the nation who made that same Treaty. Sir, it is you alone who have broken your numerous promises.."
Renata Kawepo, Ngati Kahungunu, 1861

9 "[Since Article 3 of the Treaty of Waitangi imparted to the Maori] the rights and privileges of British subjects, they are entitled to the right of trial by jury ... I stand here to protest, although I may be the only one in the house who does so, against this un-English proceeding on the part of the Ministry … I consider it is opposed to every canon of justice, and opposed to that spirit of British fair-play of which we all profess to feel so proud."
Thomas Bracken, MP, in debate on a Bill to detain Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi without trial, 1882

10 "Why should the Maori people guard this land? …It is no longer ours. The British evidently do not wish to keep their word as Rangatiras… What difference does it make if the Tiamana [Germans] come here? The British have taken our land. They have killed our wives and children. They Treaty of Waitangi is only a delusion to make the Maori people believe that the British people will keep their word of honour."
Te Puea, referring to the attitude of the Waikato Maori leadership to enlisting during World War II, from Michael King, Te Puea. A Life, 1977, pp. 206-207.

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11 "We are not one people; we are one nation. The idea of one people grew out of the days when fashionable folk talked about integration. So far as the majority and the minority are concerned, integration is precisely what cats do to mice."
Norman Kirk, Prime Minister, 1974

12 "We are one nation in which all have equal rights, but we are two peoples, and in no circumstances should we by any law or Act demand that any part of the New Zealand community should have to give up its inheritance, its culture or its identity to play its part in this nation."
Norman Kirk, Prime Minister, 1974

13 "The Treaty has the potential to be our nation’s most powerful unifying symbol."
David Lange, Prime Minister, 1989

14 "You and I, and I mean every New Zealand citizen, is a beneficiary of the Treaty of Waitangi."
Matiu Rata, Labour Cabinet Minister and MP, 1989

15 "Today we are strong enough and honest enough to learn the lessons of the last 150 years and to admit that the Treaty has been imperfectly observed. I look upon it as a legacy of promise."
Queen Elizabeth II, 6 February, 1990

16 "And justice for all New Zealanders is the objective. We have as a nation the strength and the resolve now to do what we know must be done. We are facing the realities of our history more honestly."
Geoffrey Palmer, Prime Minister, 6 February, 1990

17 "…Only a society that knows where it comes from and the forces that shaped it is in any position to understand itself and know where it is going."
Dr Peter Simpson, MP, 1990

18 "The Treaty is far from being a fossilised document … it is a beacon for the future … an embryo of principles, values and ideas to be worked out, developed and adjusted over time."
Denese Henare, Law Commissioner, 2000

19 "When you think about it, there is nowhere else in the world that one can be Pakeha. Whether the term remains forever linked to the shameful role of oppressor or whether it can become a positive source of identity and pride is up to Pakeha themselves. All that is required from them is a leap of faith."
Ani Mikaere, 2004

20 "The most difficult thing about majorities is not that they cannot see minorities, but that they cannot see themselves … To be Pakeha in this generation is sometimes to stand behind the goal line, scratching our heads, waiting for the conversion, on the wrong end of one of the great comebacks in cultural history, our coach screaming possession, possession, possession."
Glenn Colquhoun, 2004

21 "As Pakeha, we need to take responsibility for tilling that ground in our families, communities and institutions where we have power. As the make up of Tauiwi changes we also need to come to grips with what it will mean for Pakeha to become a minority and reach out to newer arrivals."
Jane Kelsey, 6 February, 2006

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