Point of Order: Ngai Tahu are given governance privileges in Canterbury and Willie Jackson gives us a rundown on “the new democracy”

Concerns about the constitutional implications of the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill were overwhelmed by a tsunami of Labour hubris and ballyhoo in Parliament yesterday. The weight of numbers against upholding liberal democratic values in the governance of our local authorities resulted in the Bill being supported by 77 votes (Labour 65; Green Party 10; Māori Party 2) to 43 (National 33; ACT 10).

And so – because a highly contentious interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi has been deemed to over-ride the notion that all citizens should have equal rights – one group of people in Canterbury will be spared the need to campaign for electoral support and can simply appoint representatives to two permanent seats on the Canterbury Regional Council.

Graeme Reeves: The Canterbury Regional Council (Ngai Tahu Representation) Bill

On the 22^nd of July 2022 the second reading debate on the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngai Tahu Representation) Bill (the CRC Bill) took place in Parliament.

The purpose of the CRC Bill is to provide Ngai Tahu with the right to appoint two non-elected members to the CRC alongside fourteen elected members.

In many respects the constitutional issues raised are the same as those raised by the now “paused” Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill (RDC) which I wrote about on 23 June 2022 - see HERE.

That Bill was referred to the Auditor General who found that the Bill offended section 19 of the Bill of Rights Act 1990 in that it discriminated on the basis of race by giving Maori two votes whilst all other eligible New Zealanders only have one.

Point of Order: Democracy or the Treaty? Faafoi can’t see it, but cocooning Ngāi Tahu from Canterbury voters makes the answer all too clear

National and ACT MPs this week were given a platform to express their objections to the democracy-enfeebling Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill.

This legislation will give one group of Canterbury citizens, Ngāi Tahu tribal leaders, a governance privilege that has been given to nobody else in this country. They will be able to avoid the challenge of nominating candidates, then campaigning for popular support at the ballot box to win places on the regional council. Rather, they will appoint two councillors who will have full decision-making powers (often on matters affecting the tribe’s considerable business interests).