NZCPR Weekly: Defending Democracy

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we look into who is driving the campaign by Local Government New Zealand to abolish Maori Ward petition rights, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Michael Coote analyses LGNZ’s attack on our democratic rights and exposes the influence of the Iwi Chairs Forum, and our poll asks whether you think a binding referendum of all voters should be required for any attempt to abolish Maori ward petition rights.

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Mike Butler: Key delegates water give-away

Prime Minister John Key is moving towards granting preferential water rights to government-created tribal corporations, thus running the risk of losing the support of large swathes of voters who supported the National Party’s previous one-law-for-all position.

A report commissioned by the Iwi Leaders Group calling for "an equitable, permanent share" of water allocations was released today, following a recent Cabinet Paper proposing criteria to give "preferential access" to private tribal companies that pay little tax on a case-by-case basis.