Bob Edlin: No, it’s not the Treaty which grants privileges to Māori – it’s politicians

Politicians eagerly do what the Treaty of Waitangi does not: they dispense favours and privileges to Māori.

They want to establish “partnerships” not because the Treaty demands them, but because they claim to be invoking “principles” established more than 100 years after the treaty’s signing.

The treaty’s role in treating Māori and non-Māori equally is mentioned on the Human Rights Commission’s website:

Frank Newman: Creaming it

A few weeks back Fonterra disclosed that its chief executive received remuneration of $8.3m in the year ended July 2017, making him New Zealand's highest paid chief executive. That payment includes base salary, bonuses and other benefits and works out to be about $4,150 an hour!

By way of comparison, the average hourly rate for a heavy truck driver is in the region of $20 to $25, and the average income in New Zealand is about $30 an hour. The Prime Minister receives about $460,000 a year, or $230 an hour, assuming an average working week which his is not.