John Robertson: Why the Word “Bicultural” Needs to Be Erased from New Zealand Law

There’s a quiet word baked into New Zealand legislation that’s been doing a lot more damage than people realise: bicultural.

It sounds harmless. Even noble. A word supposedly meant to honour New Zealand’s history. But scratch beneath the surface, and you’ll find it’s one of the most corrosive terms in our entire legal system. It’s the foundation of a two-tier framework — a system that divides citizens not by merit or equality, but by ancestry and spiritual entitlement.

NZCPR Newsletter: A Colossal Mistake

In a Herald interview, back in 2006, Auckland University’s Professor Elizabeth Rata warned, “The bicultural, Maori-Pakeha movement in New Zealand has been a mistake - it is subverting democracy, erecting ethnic boundaries between Maori and non-Maori and promoting a cultural elite within Maoridom.”

Peter Williams: What kind of School Principal do we want?

Eligibility Criteria seriously skewed

If the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is making moves to reduce or eliminate te reo in correspondence because the MFAT bosses believe the new government want that, the same attitudes have not infiltrated the Ministry of Education.

In fact, judging by the recently published “Aotearoa New Zealand Principal Eligibility Criteria” this numerically bulging but educationally failing ministry is doubling down.

Elizabeth Rata: The Treaty and Neotribal Capitalism

This paper was published in “Public Sector, The Journal of the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand”, Vol 26, No 3 September, 2003, pp. 2 - 6

The Treaty of Waitangi has become a talisman for a bicultural New Zealand. Such a leap from prior obscurity to ‘oracle’ status (Sharp, 2002) can be explained in a number of ways. The orthodox explanation is that Maori have overcome colonial-imposed subordination for the economic and political partnership promised by the treaty. In this paper I propose a different interpretation.

NZCPR Weekly: The Corruption of Democracy

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

In this week’s NZCPR newsletter, we look into the Maori Sovereignty Movement and reveal how the Ardern Government is advancing their agenda by stealth, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Ross Meurant shares his concerns about the dangers of a ‘bi-cultural partnership’, and our poll asks whether you believe Maori Sovereignty represents a threat to New Zealand.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

Henry Armstrong: All cultures are important in New Zealand - not just one

Another Maori Language Week has come and gone and hopefully te Reo has been strengthened.  In the same week, the Maori Party declared that if elected, it will arbitrarily demand the country’s name be changed from New Zealand to Aotearoa, along with all other anglicised place names, to Maori place names.

However, the name “Aotearoa” is not a traditional, nor even an appropriate, alternative name for New Zealand, according to Distinguished Professor Kerry Howe whose seminal article “Aotearoa-What’s in a Name” appeared in MSN News on 19^th September. It is by far the most erudite and well-researched article on this issue yet to be produced. All New Zealanders should read this.

But, it is high time we acknowledged all cultures in Nu Tirani (New Zealand)  in the face of continued  denial of other cultures  by bicultural activists.

NZCPR Weekly: Powerful Forces Threaten Our Future

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we look into the forces that are dividing New Zealand and threatening our future; our NZCPR Guest Commentator Bob Edlin investigates the Race Relations Commissioner’s recent attack on a newly elected local body councillor, and our poll asks whether you believe Meng Foon should be asked to resign.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

NZCPR Weekly: Democracy Under Attack

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week, we look into the extent to which our democracy is under attack, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Anthony Willy reviews the state of democracy in New Zealand, and this week’s poll asks whether you believe New Zealanders are too complacent about the rise of the Maori sovereignty movement.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: The new European ‘hipster right’ and the question of identity

They want to preserve the racial and cultural identity of Europe. They want to deport non-European immigrants. They want to close down the mosques. They want to reassert Europe as being of, and for, Europeans.

No, we’re not on about some bunch of old closet Nazis grumbling into their beards. They’re young, they’re bright, they’re well educated and brimming with worldly savvy. They are referred to as the ‘hipster right’ – the Identitarian Movement.

NZCPR Weekly: Cultural Competency

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week, we look into cultural indoctrination within the education system, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Fiona Mackenzie outlines serious concerns over the new Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession that will become operational on July 1st, and this week’s poll asks whether you think that cultural competency training should be compulsory for teachers.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

Reuben Chapple: "Rednecks" and their discontents

“Redneck” is an imported American term that has no place in New Zealand’s public discourse. 

It refers to “poor Southern white trash”, who before the American Civil War, were the overseer class on the estates owned by rich planters. They’d sat on horses toting whips and guns, overseeing black slaves as they went about their work in the cotton fields.

Reuben Chapple: All ideas have a pedigree

Dr Elizabeth Rata’s recent article (“Democracy and Diversity”) makes some excellent points about why equality in citizenship and one law for all must always trump identity politics in the public square. However, she seems to have skated somewhat lightly over how it is that “liberals of both the Left and the Right embraced biculturalism with such religious-like commitment.” All ideas have a pedigree.

Chris Trotter: Not Debating the Constitution

I DON’T GET ANGRY very often. I’ve been around too long, seen history repeat itself too many times, for all that malarkey. Just occasionally, however, I stumble across something that truly infuriates me. Like discussions billed as debates where everybody is actually on the same side. No, I’m not talking about TV3’s “The Vote”. What’s got my dander up is a four-part series being hosted by the NZ Centre for Public Law (NZCPL) entitled “Debating the Constitution”. All four encounters to be broadcast subsequently on Radio NZ National.

Muriel Newman: Bicultural constitution threatens race relations

As a result of MMP politics, a new ‘written’ Constitution based on the Treaty of Waitangi as superior law, may well be imposed on New Zealand. Such a bicultural constitution would enshrine Maori privilege, turning non-Maori New Zealanders into second class citizens in their own land. It would give un-elected Judges supreme power over our elected Members of Parliament, ensuring that no future Parliament could ever remove the Treaty from our constitution. New Zealand would forever be locked into a divisive race-based future.

This plan to give the Treaty of Waitangi constitutional status is being driven by the Maori Party representing the tribal elite. After the 2008 election, they not only demanded ownership rights to New Zealand’s foreshore and seabed - in return for supporting a National-led government - but they set in train a constitutional review as well.