Graeme Reeves: The Treaty Principle’s Bill or the Constitutional Principles Bill or neither?

In his blog of 14 October 2024 Professor Robert MacCulloch, in discussing the Treaty Principles Bill suggested that the bill be renamed the “Constitutional Principles Bill”. He suggested that it should simply map out the fundamental values all Kiwis hold dear avoiding the futile treaty interpretation and mind reading game.

If only it were that simple.

Graeme Reeves: Why is the Creation of Customary Marine Titles an Issue of Concern for New Zealand?

A brief legislative history of the seabed and foreshore journey

Prior to the 2003 Court of Appeal decision commonly referred to as the Ngati Apa decision it was generally believed that customary rights to the foreshore and seabed had been extinguished by the cession of sovereignty under the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Ngati Apa case held that Maori customary title could only be extinguished by legislation and because that had not happened the definition of “land” in the Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 applied and under that definition the foreshore and seabed was not necessarily excluded from being land.

The finding gave jurisdiction to the Maori Land Court to hear applications by claimants seeking to establish customary title.

Graeme Reeves: Independent Electoral Review – final report released on 16 January 2024

The Independent electoral Review Panel (“the Panel”) identified and set for itself the following objectives, “how to improve the fairness, accountability, clarity, representativeness and effectiveness of our electoral system and how it can uphold the treaty of Waitangi.

The Panel made 140 recommendation for change to satisfy its objectives.

I wish in this article to refer to only one of them and that is the recommendation that the Maori seats should be entrenched. The Panel did not consider the bigger issue of the Maori seats because it was not include in the terms of reference.

Graeme Reeves: Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF)

It has been fascinating witnessing the indignant outrage of the MSM media to the Deputy Prime Minister's comments condemning those media organisations that applied for and received the government PIJF hand out.

Surprising to me was Mike Hosking’s rant which descended into an ad hominem attack on Winston Peters.

When one sees such a vitriolic and defensive reaction one wonders why the allegedly objective media has reacted so badly.

Graeme Reeves: Freedom of speech under attack

Democracy cannot exist without FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

Freedom of Speech is enshrined in New Zealand law.

Section 14 of The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 is explicit, “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form.”

Nonetheless it seems that the right is restricted to expressions that are approved by any identity (woke) group that may be offended by the expression.

Graeme Reeves: MMP – Calling time on a failed experiment

Matthew Hooton in the Herald on Friday, May 5 2023 wrote under the headline, “MMP – calling time on a failing experiment”.

I have altered the headline because, in my view, the experiment is not failing it has failed and failed dramatically. I was a member of the National Party caucus that presided over the referenda that followed the publication of the Royal Commission which recommended that MMP was the most favoured system over Single Transferrable Vote, Mixed Member or preferential. I was not in favour of the change being  implemented on the a simple majority at a general election.

As it happened the change to MMP was preferred by a majority of 54%.

Graeme Reeves: Observations on 3 Waters reform (now Affordable Waters)

On Saturday, 15 April on the Nation (TV3) John Tamihere, as part of a panel commenting on the affordable water reforms, expressed the view that all the fresh water in the rivers and lakes of New Zealand are the property of Māori:  

“We know they had to go to a co-governance model to placate the true issue, which is that Māori own the water assets, that’s just a fact.”

He went on to say: “Māori rightly say, how do we get co-governance when we own 100 percent of it?

The real issue is how do pakehas get into the room.”

Is Tamihiri’s assertion that Māori own 100 percent of the fresh water in New Zealand a fact that has been proven by the Court true?

Graeme Reeves: Call An Early Election

The Government has lost the trust and confidence of the electorate and should call an early election.

There is a doctrine under employment law which is analogist to the situation confronting the Labour Government.

Under employment law when there is a loss of trust and  confidence in the relationship between and employer and an employee, caused by the behaviour of an employee, there are grounds for a justifiable dismissal.

That is because trust and confidence goes to the core of the relationship and without it there is no longer a viable relationship.

The 6^th Labour Government led by Jacinda Ardern is not only incompetent but also deceitful. 

Graeme Reeves: Water Services Entities Bill – Breaches New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990

On the 25th of May 2022, the Attorney-General of New Zealand (Hon David Parker) received legal advice from the Ministry of Justice (LPA 01 01 24) entitled “Consistency with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990: Water Services Entities Bill.”

The New Zealand Bill if of Rights Act 1990 (BORA) is an Act –

(a) To affirm, protect, and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms in New Zealand; and
(b) To affirm New Zealand’s commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”

In New Zealand we have one of the oldest representative democracies in the world. Our first general election was in 1853.

Graeme Reeves: Tuna and Te Urewera Board

Tuna and Te Urewera Board (TUB), Trustees of Tuhoe (TUT) and Director-General of Conservation (DOC) - TUNA v TE UREWERA BOARD [2022] NZHC 2924 [8 November 2022] – Application for judicial review.

The applicant in this matter was Mr Tuna a resident of the Urewera.  Mr Tuna objected to the hasty destruction by fire of the network of huts throughout the Urewera by TUT the operational arm of TUB.

Mr Tuna asked the Court to grant an interim order requiring TUT to,” immediately cease its programme of destruction of listed huts pending final disposition of this proceeding.”

He was successful.  I congratulate him for having the courage to bring this proceeding on behalf of all New Zealanders.

The case, even at this early stage not knowing what the ultimate outcome might be raises some interesting issues worthy, in my opinion, of discussion.

Graeme Reeves: Ella Henry responds to Oxford University’s Richard Dawkins

Associate professor Ella Henry’s response to Oxford University’s Richard Dawkins, one the world’s leading public intellectuals, to the teaching of Maori mythology as science in New Zealand.

Dawkin’s view is that if Maori mythology is true science then it should be taught in every country on the grounds that science is global whereas mythologies are culturally specific and should be taught in mythology classes separately where those mythologies have agency but not in science classes.

Henry’s response published by Newshub was, “let’s remember that 3000 years before Dawkins’ ancestors dipped their toes in the North Atlantic, mine were traversing the biggest ocean on the planet using nothing more than Polynesian science.”

3000 years ago Henry’s other ancestors were experiencing the early stages of the Bronze Age. Bronze is made from an amalgamation of tin and copper. The process is scientific and represented a great advancement in western civilisation.

Maori by contrast remained in the Stone Age until they came into contact with Europeans with their metal implements and weapons.

Graeme Reeves: Hon Willi Jackson - 8 August 2022 – One Person One Vote

Willie Jackson’s opinion piece published in the New Zealand Herald on 8 August 2022 is explicit and revelatory of the shallowness of the proponents of co-government for New Zealand.

The Jackson school of thought believes that governing New Zealand is best served by having two separate and incompatible forms of Government operating side by side with equal authority.

He sets out his supporting arguments in the article. Leaving aside his misguided excursion into American and British constitutional law he puts forward six reasons for slamming the foundations of New Zealand’s liberal democracy: “one person one vote”.

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.

Graeme Reeves: Report of the Attorney General on the Rotorua Council Bill

Report of the Attorney General of 21 April 2022 Under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 on the Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements ) Bill (A.G.)

The Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill (the Bill) seeks to override the provisions of the Local Electoral Act 2001 (LEA) by substituting the formula set out in the LEA by another formula which would allow for Council representation to be over represented by Maori.

The A.G sets out in clauses 10 to 13 the following analysis of the effect of the proposed representation arrangements in answer to the question, “Does the legislation draw a distinction on one of the prohibited grounds of discrimination?”

Graeme Reeves: Cooke on Partnership Treaty of Waitangi

Co–Governance is predicated on the assumption that the Treaty of Waitangi created an equal Partnership between Maori and the Crown.

Is that assumption correct?

The term Partnership was first used in the context of the Treaty in the Court of Appeal case (New Zealand Maori Council v Attorney-General [1987] 1 NZLR 641) in what is referred to as the Lands Case in 1987. In particular the obiter dicta (not the ratio decidendi) in the judgment of Justice Robin Cooke who was the President of the Court of Appeal at that time.

Since the publication of the He Puapua report and its eventual public release, a great deal of debate about the report’s expressed goal of the division of New Zealand into two separate sovereign states has ensued.