Sitting at Turangawaewae at Kiingi Tūheitia’s tangi last week, I found myself reflecting on growing up in Stokes Valley. It’s probably fair to say that as a teenager my actions were sometimes sub-optimal. One incident in particular came to mind from my college days, when I’d made an inappropriate comment to a fellow student who Read more
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he supports the Christian leaders in expressing their views; however, he has not seen a full draft of the ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. He was responding to Monday’s open letter from over 400 religious leaders who, sight unseen, wanted the Bill voted down at the first reading, preventing Read more
A mature, thoughtful conversation about Te Tiriti o Waitangi would be timely, but the Act party should not lead it. At the last election, it was the only party to propose a referendum on this subject, and 91.6 percent of the electorate did not support them. It had no democratic mandate to enact its ideas Read more
Christian leaders want MPs to vote down the Treaty Principles Bill at its first reading. The 440 senior leaders from Catholic, Anglican, Salvation Army, Baptist and Methodist denominations, under the “Common Grace” umbrella, expressed their views in an open letter. On Monday, September 9, the Cabinet saw a draft version of David Seymour’s controversial bill Read more
It has taken just over a month for this new coalition Government to render Māori an almost nullity. The last time that occurred was in 1877 when the then Chief Justice James Prendergast proclaimed the Treaty was “worthless” because it had been signed “between a civilised nation and a group of savages” who were incapable Read more
Hate speech has been the subject of much debate in Parliament lately. Debate has centred on protecting individuals from such speech via the Human Rights Act. It’s been an ongoing question with pros and cons. Should the Act be expanded – or not? The legislation already specifically protects people from being subject to hate speech Read more
The Borrin Foundation has funded a report which is the first stage of a national, multi-year project led by 16 Māori legal researchers associated with Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga, New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence. The project and the report explore systemic change in the legal studies curriculum at Aotearoa New Zealand universities Read more
An iwi leader says a glossy booklet promoting “racist propaganda” being dropped into Lower Hutt letterboxes is dangerous. Kura Moeahu, chairman of Te Runanganui o Te Atiawa and of the Waiwhetū Marae in Lower Hutt, was unsurprised the booklet To All New Zealanders: Are we being Conned by the Treaty Industry? was doing the rounds. Read more
The Waitangi Tribunal has found the way the Crown is managing claims under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act is in breach of the Treaty of Waitangi and prejudicially affects Māori. The legislation replaced the controversial Foreshore and Seabed Act in 2011. It allows Māori to gain legal recognition of their customary rights Read more
The Catholic Church should apologise for its role in the confiscation of Māori land and colonisation, says the New Zealand Māori Council . A pivotal part of this involves the “Doctrine of Discovery”. This doctrine (which is enshrined in Catholic law) was used internationally as justification for Christians to claim land belonging to non-Christians. Māori Read more