… the fastest legislature in the west. Geoffrey Palmer on the New Zealand Parliament
A classic example of what Palmer was referring to is the 1975 Treaty of Waitangi Act. The Act established the Waitangi Tribunal with powers to investigate and adjudicate on breaches of the 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi. However only Maori can make claims. A Maori is defined in the Act as “a person of the Maori race of New Zealand; and includes any descendant of such a person.”
But today scientists reject the concept of race – it is not a valid biological concept. All Maori New Zealanders are in fact part-Maori and the vast majority have more non-Maori blood than Polynesian.
