Graham Adams: Hikoi threat over Treaty clauses review

Fighting talk from a TVNZ journalist.

The government’s review of Treaty clauses in legislation has mightily displeased one of the resident Māori activists at 1News. A column by Te Aniwa Hurihanganui that accompanied her televised news segment last week is titled “Govt risks another colossal hikoi if it weakens Treaty obligations”.

David Lillis: Unpublished Paper on our National Science Curriculum

Nearly a year ago I wrote a piece for a special edition of a journal. It was submitted as a commentary rather than as a research paper, but was roundly rejected. In fact, the journal’s reviews of this piece were scathing in the extreme.

However, here I give this paper for those interested in discussions on New Zealand’s science curriculum. It is essentially the same as the original manuscript but slightly longer because the original limit of 3000 words precluded the inclusion of certain detail. It embodies only a few additional ideas and a light edit here and there for a public audience.

Perce Harpham: Renewing New Zealand - Part 1

In this, Part 1, I will explore some of the issues which have determined our present situation. I will show some of the extent to which the power of the block of Maori seats in Parliament has threatened our democracy - bringing legal rights and tax exemptions for Maori at the cost of ratepayers and, heavily, taxpayers.The Treaty Principles Bill was a brave attempt to have the Waitangi Treaty simply mean what it says. Now that the Select Committee has slapped it down, do we simply accept all the fabrications that have been built around the Treaty or do we do something different?

Zoran Rakovic: Whose Land Is It Anyway? New Zealand’s Property Rights Farce

“Property rights are not about hugging a fencepost. They’re about knowing who’s in charge, who gets the bill, and who reaps the spoils.” — Alchian & Allen, paraphrased for clarity and sanity.

Let’s drop the pretence. New Zealand is fast becoming a textbook case in how to muddle up a perfectly decent nation. The latest chapter in our decline? A slow, clumsy dismantling of one of civilisation’s most basic and boringly essential inventions: clear property rights.

Cam Slater: Treaty Issues Now a Top 3 Concern for Voters

As I predicted the other day, Christopher Luxon and the National Party are being squeezed hard on treaty issues. David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill is increasingly popular, and the polls show it. But Luxon is extremely squishy on this and wetter than an otter’s pocket. Sooner rather than later he is going to have to pick a side instead of sitting on the fence.

Point of Order: Willie Jackson is coy about a meeting....

.......(if there was one) to determine what media will tell us about Treaty issues

Our monitors of the government’s official website have spotted no press statements from Willie Jackson since July 8, when he paid tribute to Dr Ihakara (Kara) Porutu Puketapu.

We are disappointed because we are expecting – correction, we are hoping – to see something today, preferably a denial that Jackson is meeting with mainstream media people to determine how Maori and Treaty issues should be reported.

Don Brash: What does Hipkin's use of "New Zealand" imply?

I’ve been told that our new Prime Minister used the words “New Zealand” at Ratana the other day where Jacinda Ardern would have used “Aotearoa”, or “Aotearoa New Zealand”. And it has been suggested that his usage of the official name of our country rather than either of the ones usually favoured by Ardern is significant, and perhaps suggestive of a desire on his part to distance the Government from some of the more contentious aspects of its policies around co-governance.

If that was his intention, I regret to advise him that merely shifting some of the names is not going to solve the Government’s problem around what might loosely be called Treaty issues.