Gary Judd KC: A student should not be forced to learn about tikanga to be a lawyer

Yesterday, Parliament's Regulation Review Committee heard oral submissions concerning my complaint to the Committee asking that a member of the committee move a resolution asking the House of Representatives to disallow the regulations promulgated by the New Zealand Council of Legal Education. If the regulations are not disallowed, they will take effect from 1 January 2025. Every first-year law student in New Zealand will be required to take and pass a course in tikanga Māori. In addition, tikanga will be infused into all the other compulsory subjects (contract, tort, property law, et cetera). The Committee allocated 15 minutes for me, 5 minutes for lawyer Thomas Newman (who supported my complaint), and 15 minutes for Justice Neil Campbell, who is now chairman of the NZCLE. For each of us, the allocated time was to include time for questions from Committee members.