Roger Partridge: Everything is not relative - The world votes with its feet

If there’s one thing every humanities student learns, it’s that everything is relative. Morality is culturally constructed. Truth is a matter of perspective. Values are power dressed in philosophy. To claim that one political system or way of life is better than another is naïve at best, imperialist at worst.

Except, of course, for that claim itself – which is treated as unquestionable.

This self-refuting orthodoxy has become the West’s intellectual auto-immune disease. In seminar rooms from Auckland to New York, students learn that to judge another culture is to oppress it.

Geoff Parker: From shelter to sovereignty?

K Gurunathan’s recent Post column praises marae for their role during recent North Island storms and condemns critics of Māori governance arrangements. What it avoids, however, is the uncomfortable but necessary distinction between community charity and political authority.

No one disputes that many marae opened their doors during emergencies, offering shelter, food, and care — just as churches, schools, clubs, and private citizens routinely do in times of crisis. Decency in an emergency is not unique to any culture, nor does it confer constitutional status.

Roger Partridge: An Open Society Requires Constant Vigilance

Who is responsible for defending liberal democracy when its norms come under attack? Karl Popper, writing as fascist armies swept Europe, understood this was not an abstract question. Popper championed societies that were fundamentally “open” – sustained by critical inquiry and peaceful disagreement, rather than imposed unity. But Popper grasped a paradox: openness could only survive if actively defended against those who would exploit its openness to destroy it.

Professor Elizabeth Rata: Oral Presentation to the Parliamentary Justice Committee on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill

What is the best title given to any New Zealand legislation? My money is on the 1877 Education Act – 'An Act to make Further Provision for the Education of the People of New Zealand' – the People of New Zealand. So as early as the 1870s there's the commitment to a united people who belong to, and benefit from, the nation 'New Zealand'. Nearly 150 years later that commitment is under serious threat from those who would replace liberal democracy with tribal sovereignty and, by doing so, create a racialised society – apartheid.

Professor Ananish Chaudhuri: Debate around ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill essential for a multi-ethnic nation

I support the Treaty Principles Bill introduced by ACT. I believe the debate around this bill is fundamentally important if New Zealand is to remain a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nation.

Here is the way I see it. While I fully acknowledge the discrepancies between the Maori and English versions of Te Tiriti Waitangi, the debate on whether Maori ceded sovereignty to the British Crown is sublimated by a long list of subsequent acts (and laws) that hold New Zealand to be an independent sovereign state. Parliamentary sovereignty has long been considered a foundational constitutional rule.