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.

Geoff Parker: Bastion Point, Rewritten History, and the Politics of Permanent Grievance

Hana Pera Aoake’s article in The Post reads less like history and more like advocacy presented as reflection. It leans heavily on symbolism and emotion while relying on selective memory and the omission of inconvenient facts—choices that serve a predetermined grievance narrative rather than an honest accounting of the past.

Start with Bastion Point itself. In 1886, 5.3 hectares of land were acquired under the Public Works Act for declared military purposes. This was neither a confiscation nor an unpaid seizure. Ngāti Whātua received £1,500 in compensation—roughly equivalent to about NZ$570,000 in today’s terms. On a per‑hectare basis, that payment was approximately twice the median value of today’s undeveloped New Zealand farmland. By any reasonable standard, the compensation was generous. Calling this “theft” obscures the basic facts: it was a lawful acquisition, accompanied by substantial payment.