Geoff Parker: Luxon's Silence On The Treaty Debate Is Becoming Deafening

I have been talking to iwi leaders ... for the past 12 months.

— Christopher Luxon, April 2025

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's latest meeting with iwi leaders raises an important question: who exactly is he governing for?

No reasonable New Zealander would object to the Prime Minister meeting Māori leaders. In a democratic country, governments should engage with all sectors of society. Farmers, business owners, unions, community groups, churches, environmental organisations and iwi all have a right to be heard.

The problem is not that Luxon met with iwi leaders.

Geoff Parker: Constitutional Transformation or Constitutional Drift?

The push for constitutional change through Matike Mai Aotearoa is often framed as a reasonable evolution — a move toward “partnership” grounded in the Treaty of Waitangi. Many of its advocates present it as a balanced and inclusive vision for New Zealand’s future.

But the issue is not intent. It is direction — and how key concepts are being reinterpreted to justify structural change.