Caritas Suppotrs retention of Section 9 of the State Owned Enterprises Act -

Caritas Supports retention of Section 9 of the State Owned Enterprises Act

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has made a submission to the Consultation with Maori about the Mixed Ownership Model being proposed by the Government.

Caritas supports the retention of Section 9 of the State Owned Enterprises Act 1986 as it relates to the new legislation being proposed under the Public Finance Act and believes insufficient time has been allowed for meaningful consultation.

The Constitutional Review provides a better opportunity and a more appropriate forum for any reconsideration of the wording of Section 9

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is the Catholic agency for Justice, Peace and Development, mandated by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference to work for the elimination of poverty and injustice through development and aid work internationally, and through advocacy and education for social justice in New Zealand. They made their submission in consultation with Te Runanga 0 Te Hahi Katorika ki Aotearoa.

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops said in 1995:

“To the Government: Please, keep trying to address the grievances of the past with integrity and consultation. The indigenous people of our country, the Maori, deserve better than unilateral arrangements and imposed settlements for genuine, acknowledged wrongs. Treaty of Waitangi issues are not about party politics. They are about honouring with goodwill the covenant entered into by the Crown and Maori, on which this nation is founded. They are about the right of the first occupants to land, and a social and political organisation which would allow them to preserve their cultural identity. They are about a people still searching for the sovereignty guaranteed them 150 years ago. We ask then that you look boldly to a new process of consultation on the meaning and application of tino rangatiratanga and kawanatanga as encompassed in Te Tiriti.”
New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference: A statement on the Treaty of Waitangi in today’s perspective, 1995

The Caritas submission concluded by saying that at the Consultation Hui in Te Whanganui-a-Tara many of the speakers stated that the wrong questions were being asked. This submission supports that viewpoint. This consultation process does not try to resolve any grievances but in fact creates more problems due to the limited scope of engagement

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