Matua Kahurangi: Māori advantages in New Zealand

The question of race-based privilege in New Zealand has become increasingly polarising. For the left, government policies recognising Māori as tangata whenua are essential to honour the Treaty of Waitangi and correct “historical wrongs.” For others, these policies represent a dangerous departure from democratic equality, creating a two-tier system where rights and opportunities are determined not by citizenship, but by ethnicity.