Over the last 24 years, my work has involved estimating losses in commercial disputes and compensation for treaty breaches in countries around the world. These have included high-stakes cases involving the Yukos Oil Company in Russia, an energy business in Ukraine, and land claims under a treaty between Malaysia and Singapore. In every case, the Read more
Act Party leader David Seymour, who has whakapapa to Ngāti Rēhia hapū through his mother, rejects criticism from his hapū and others who accuse him of violating Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Despite his claim of Maori ancestry, he is defending his Treaty Principles Bill. His comments came as a hīkoi opposing the bill reached Parliament, Read more
With the protest hikoi from the far north moving through Auckland on its way to Wellington, it might be said ACT leader David Seymour has been granted his wish of generating an: “important national conversation about the place of the Treaty in our constitutional arrangements”. The hikoi is timed to coincide with the first reading Read more
Common thinking on the contentious Treaty Principles Bill has healed a decades-long rift between the Anglican Church in Wellington and Ngāti Toa Rangatira. The Church and iwi have joined forces to “unequivocally” oppose the Bill which they say reinterprets the 184-year old Te Tiriti o Waitangi – the Treaty of Waitangi. The Bill, which sets Read more
What place does the Treaty of Waitangi have in the Catholic Church in Aotearoa-New Zealand? It’s a question focused on at present by two Catholic organisations – the Christian Life Community and the Bicultural Committee of the Archdiocesan Commission for Ecology, Justice and Peace. They have already held a two-day hui to further their thinking Read more
The Coalition Government’s pledge to introduce a Treaty Principles Bill is insupportable, opponents say. Describing the proposed Bill as “radical”, former National Party minister Chris Finlayson and political commentator Matthew Hooten say the bills should not have the National-led Government’s support. Former National Party attorney general and minister for Treaty negotiations under Sir John Key’s Read more
Calling for national unity, Māori King Tuheitia has issued a royal proclamation wanting a national hui to take place. King Tuheitia and the Waitangi National Trust say they want to hold the ‘unifying’ national discussion on the Treaty principles while the new coalition government prepares its own political debate on the issue. The royal proclamation Read more
Ignoring Māori homelessness and failing to implement effective Māori housing policies is a Crown breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, says the Waitangi Tribunal. The Tribunal says the first stage of its inquiry into the Crown’s housing policy and services from 2009 to 2021 is now complete. It found the Crown’s actions breached Te Tiriti Read more
Waitangi Day again raises the question about what Te Tiriti o Waitangi means. As the late Moana Jackson commented, the meaning of Te Tiriti will be talked about in each generation because it is about a relationship between Māori and Pākehā and relationships must always be worked on. Here, we focus on the learning of Read more
In 1987, the Court of Appeal came up with “principles of the Treaty” as part of its findings in the “Lands” case. The principles were based on the assumption that the two Treaty texts were not translations of each other and didn’t convey the same meaning. Therefore, the court felt free to explore what the Read more