Te Pāti Māori arrived at Waitangi with a new campaign pledge, and a bold ultimatum. Co-leader Rawiri Waititi announced Tuesday a bottom line for any potential coalition partner, saying there must be a Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
That commissioner would have an extraordinary power, giving it the ability to audit bills and issue a “Tiriti veto” if policy and bills did not comply with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
TPM are at least honest about their intentions. They wish to end parliamentary democracy in New Zealand. Their non-negotiable demand is that an appointed Commissioner will have the ability to veto any law that in their sole discretion they decide is not compliant with the Treaty of Waitangi.
It’s ironic that there is so much focus on how Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, while in New Zealand we have an opposition party that is outrightly campaigning on ending democracy.
Chris Hipkins has refused to rule TPM out on the basis of this policy. It seems given a choice between democracy and a coalition partner – the latter will win.
The only upside to this policy is that it would be very cool to be the Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I would put my hand up for the role. We all know that Hone Heke campaigned against taxes and tariffs, so I would love to have the sole power to strike down taxes I don’t like as being non compliant with the Treaty. Minimum wage laws are clearly not compliant with the Treaty as they interfere with hapu rights, so they would also reluctantly go.
I also imagine that having the sole power to strike down laws would make me very very popular with lobbyists. I’d never have to pay for dinner again – or holidays, or houses, or clothes or well anything.
The only negative thing about the role is the title. Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi is quite a mouthful. A much better title could be Rex, or Czar, or Pharaoh – from ancient history. Or I could go with Kaiser, Generalisimus, Duce from the first half of the 20th century. Supreme Leader has a nice ring to it also, per North Korea.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
Chris Hipkins has refused to rule TPM out on the basis of this policy. It seems given a choice between democracy and a coalition partner – the latter will win.
The only upside to this policy is that it would be very cool to be the Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I would put my hand up for the role. We all know that Hone Heke campaigned against taxes and tariffs, so I would love to have the sole power to strike down taxes I don’t like as being non compliant with the Treaty. Minimum wage laws are clearly not compliant with the Treaty as they interfere with hapu rights, so they would also reluctantly go.
I also imagine that having the sole power to strike down laws would make me very very popular with lobbyists. I’d never have to pay for dinner again – or holidays, or houses, or clothes or well anything.
The only negative thing about the role is the title. Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi is quite a mouthful. A much better title could be Rex, or Czar, or Pharaoh – from ancient history. Or I could go with Kaiser, Generalisimus, Duce from the first half of the 20th century. Supreme Leader has a nice ring to it also, per North Korea.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
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