Dear NZCPR Reader,
This week we ask the Prime Minister to stop the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill, our NZCPR Guest Commentator, Rodney Hide explains why tribalism is the worst form of economic organisation, and this week’s poll asks whether you believe that the introduction of the Maori co-governance of local authorities should be conditional upon the approval of a majority of New Zealanders through a binding public referendum process.
I have sent a letter to the Prime Minister appealing to him to stop the Bill. We feel so strongly about this, that we are publishing the letter in the Sunday Newspapers - so the public can better understand what’s going on and add their voice to our appeal to the PM to stop the Bill. Even before our ads have been published, they appear to have brought about a ‘charm offensive’ from the Minister for the Environment, who has sent out emails to everyone who has contacted him about the Bill - you can read Stephen Franks’ response to some of the spurious claims the Minister has made in the past HERE.
What’s particularly bizarre in his new email is the claim, that not only has there been ample public consultation on the iwi arrangements in the Bill over the last four years, but that National even campaigned on them at the last election.
What he is talking about, of course, are the old measures (Iwi Participation Arrangements) that were originally in the Bill.
The new Mana Whakahono a Rohe co-governance provisions, that are the cause of so much concern, only made an appearance in public documents in 2016 - in a fresh water discussion paper. They weren’t included in the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill until November last year, eight months after public submissions had closed. As a result, there has been absolutely no opportunity for public input into the new statutory powers for iwi and hapu in the Bill.
However, this is politics, and it is important to note that the Minister decided that the new Mana Whakahono a Rohe agreements in the Bill should be given a dual name, so they are now also called Iwi Participation Arrangements - the same name as the old provisions that they replaced!
Don’t forget that the email addresses of the Prime Minister and all other MPs can be found on our NZCPR.com website HERE.
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3 comments:
Muriel the broadcast today [ Monday 3 April ] with Leighton Smith, yourself, and Stephen Franks was a massive blow against the intended Co-Governance> Maori privilege legislation. I will take a punt to say Bill English will pull this racist Bill out till after election. I think also that Nick Smith will not hold Environment after election.
Again Muriel. Your talk about this shared Governance with unelected part Maori, was clear and precise. No listeners would be left in doubt as to what Smith intends.
I was wrong. Nick Smith enters the history books having the same charming reputation as a canker on democracy as Geoff Palmer. I hope we can be rid of this bad, and crippled Minister later this year, along with his fellow traitor to democracy Chris Finlayson.
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