Assistant Speaker Trevor Mallard is objecting to the proposed new prayer for Parliament, saying while it removes religious elements from the English version, it deceptively puts them into the Maori version.
It also appeared to confer rights of Parliament’s sovereignty on the local iwi, Te Atiawa.
Speaker David Carter appears to have consulted only MPs and perhaps a handful of others about changing the prayer. He won’t discuss it before making the decision next week. Continue reading