Barry Brill: The Flawed Preamble to the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975

The flawed Preamble to the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 set off 50 years of litigation on the wrong foot

A Preamble plays an important role in conveying to the Courts what law-makers were aiming to achieve by an Act of Parliament. Any factual error in a preamble will inevitably cause endless confusion and argument

Almost 135 years after the Treaty documents were signed, a number of disputes concerning land ownership remained extant, and Parliament passed the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 to establish a specialised Tribunal to hear and consider those remaining disputes.

Elizabeth Rata: Ngai Tahu Ambitions for the South Island

History and the Treaty

The discussion surrounding the Treaty Principles Bill reveals two very different ways of understanding history.

An ahistorical understanding gives a sacred quality to human events, imbuing them with a spirit of timeless authority beyond human intervention. The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi and the post-1986 partnership principle are given this spiritual authority. It's seen in such phrases as the Treaty speaks to us today and in the fruitless search for a definitive Treaty meaning.

Centrist: Poll - Majority of New Zealanders support equality in Treaty debate

Recent polling commissioned by Hobson’s Pledge shows 62% of New Zealanders support honouring the Treaty of Waitangi, provided it upholds fundamental human rights, with only 12% disagreeing.

However, the poll also found low support (13%) for the belief that the Treaty mandates 50% Māori representation in Parliament, with only Te Pāti Māori voters expressing overall agreement.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: The BBC reports fake news about NZ's Treaty debate....

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reports fake news nonsense about NZ's Treaty Debate.

You'd think the state-owned broadcaster in Britain, the BBC, could do a little bit of correct reporting on NZ. Instead, its front page news on the Wellington protests summarize what's happening as follows: "The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi is seen as fundamental to the country’s race relations. But .. there’s a concern that the rights won by the Māori community are being eroded. The bill that has been introduced by the Act political party argues that NZ should legally define the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi".

Professor Robert MacCulloch: How NZ's economy became broken....

Now We Know how NZ's economy became broken: The Judiciary wrote a Communist-style Constitution with no Consultation; without People Knowing.

The Treaty Debate is great. We've just found out, courtesy of our Kings Counsels, what has broken the economic back of this country. It has only just been revealed, thanks to their letter to the PM, that the judiciary invented their own set of Treaty Principles, the main one of interest to economists being the requirement of "equitable outcomes", which are now fully part of our Constitution.

Peter Williams: At last - a Treaty Debate

We need more of this

It was a really good show, deserving of a wider audience.

It was “The Working Group” live debate on David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill. It was a show that either TV 1 or TV 3 should have shown live.

But they lack the courage to do so.

Martyn “Bomber” Bradbury is not everyone’s cup of tea. He was once even banned from RNZ’s “The Panel” for being too radical!

Graham Adams: The collapse of Maori nationalism

As with unionism, overreach will end iwi power push.

One of former Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s most singular achievements during her tenure as premier was to push a majority of voters to the point of revulsion regarding race-based policy. Now the coalition government is orchestrating a swift counter-revolution, with the support of the disaffected constituency Ardern helped create.

Paul Paynter: The Te Tiriti o Waitangi journey

I didn’t vote for David Seymour.

Jacinda Ardern may be right in that he’s “an arrogant prick”, but at least he has courage. Seymour’s End of Life Choice Act was a remarkable achievement. It’s the sort of issue that upsets a lot of people, me included. To confront difficult issues requires you to put your political capital on the line.

And so it is with any discussion about the Treaty of Waitangi. Seymour has the cojones and Luxon doesn’t. One of the best parts of MMP is it brings us fringe parties with fringe ideas and the courage to air them.

Barrie Davis: I Lift My Pen…

The proposed Treaty Principles Bill by the ACT Party has caused debate about the meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi in Maori. Dame Anne Salmond recently published an article in which she claimed that Maoris have a different way of thinking to Pakehas and so attribute a different meaning to the Treaty. I will consider that claim and its implications.

Dame Anne takes her ways of thinking from Cartesian dualism, which she says is brought about by the division between the thinking self and the material world. She says this gives rise to logic based on binary oppositions which organizes reality into entities that are radically distinct from each other. She also says that is the origin of scientific racism.

JC: “I Lift My Gun, I Let the Shots Do the Talking”

“I lift my gun, I let the shots do the talking”

Peeni Henare, New Zealand Labour Party

Once again our so-called national day was hijacked. We were treated to aggression and fighting words and violence. Threats of guns and cannons. A malevolent, three-headed taniwha. Lions. Spiders.

Peeni Henare said, “I lift my gun, I let the shots do the talking.”

NZCPR Newsletter: Waitangi 2024

This year the Waitangi theatre had a particular edge to it. There was fighting talk: “This is a fight that will not be fought just in Parliament. I lift my gun, and I let the shots do the talking.” But did former Labour Minister Peeni Henare cross the line into inciting violence against the new government with those words? Was another former Labour Minister Willie Jackson doing the same last year when he threatened war: “Maori will go to war if this Treaty referendum goes through”?

Lindsay Mitchell: The danger of the Treaty debate wearing us down

Screeds have been written about the Treaty of Waitangi. And there's more to come as division over race and rights ramps up.

Its content and meaning are getting lost in the crossfire and the danger of 'contestants' talking past each other looms, if not already happening.

When matters get murky, and misunderstandings abound, there is also a danger of observers getting worn down and disengaging. To avoid this happening personally, I made a mental list of what really aggravates me. In no particular order: