Category: Constitutional Reform
Last week the Supreme Court delivered the second of its two-part judgement on the first Marine and Coastal Area Act case to progress its way through to our highest court. The first decision released last December put “tikanga” or Maori custom at the heart of all coastal claim decision-making, while the second, which only affects the mouths of navigable rivers, will end up opening up the country’s waterways for tribal claim.
In a compelling analysis, Emeritus Professor Peter Watts KC exposes how the Supreme Court’s decision in Ellis v R (continuance) represents a revolutionary departure from New Zealand’s constitutional foundations. It exposes how, by declaring tikanga relevant to any issue of common law or statutory interpretation, the Court has up-ended our legal system without a legitimate constitutional mandate.
Stopping the tribal takeover is what National, ACT and New Zealand First promised to do when they agreed to prioritise “Ending race-based policies” in their Coalition Agreement. By “ending race-based policies” and expunging all references to “race” and “Maori” from our Statute books (excluding Treaty settlement legislation), New Zealand would join over half of all OECD countries that have adopted a similar “colourblind” approach.
If the present journey is allowed to continue then National will have forfeited the trust of those voting it into office. The result will be that at the next election many loyal National voters will vote for a minority party and candidate. Either National will become the minority member of a coalition with ACT and NZ First, or the door will be open to a Labour, Green, Maori Party government which will allow the separatists to finalise their attack on our institutions.
Forty-two councils are set to hold pivotal referenda on the future of Maori seats in October, yet few New Zealanders appear to grasp just how high the stakes actually are. Proponents of Maori sovereignty understand the gravity: losing these seats would deal a crushing blow to their push for control over local councils. More critically, it could jeopardise their race-based parliamentary seats and their He Puapua plan to dominate “Aotearoa” by 2040.
The Kaipara District Council stands alone as the only council to disestablish its Maori ward. By doing so, it has avoided the need for the referendum that is about to be held by 42 other councils that introduced Maori wards without obtaining a mandate from the public before doing so. I spoke with Kaipara Mayor, Craig Jepson, about his experience with their Maori ward and why his council thought disestablishment was the appropriate path to take.
New Zealand has one of the world's longest running democracies, but the Maori seats have been weaponised to destroy it. Will the Coalition accelerate the tribal takeover by introducing tikanga into Parliament, or will they honour their election pledge and reject it?
The Court’s role is to interpret and apply the law as Parliament has enacted it, not to substitute its own judgment for that of elected representatives. As the UK Supreme Court has shown, respect for democracy demands judicial discipline, not activism.
President Trump wants to re-establish reciprocity in trade to enable the US to strengthen its economic base and rebuild a security umbrella for citizens and allies. His ultimate goal is to use tariffs to switch the US from taxing labour to taxing imports, by using funds collected to lower income tax towards zero for most Americans.
As our mothers will have told us this as we stood staring in to fridge looking for something which is under our nose but often when simple truths are staring us in the face we look the other way rather than face them. Such is happening today on a massive scale threatening to undermine our democracy and our way of life.
Loading ...
