Editor's choice of recently published news, views, and opinions that may be of interest. Continue reading

A brief explanation. In 2011 the National Government passed the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act “to provide for the recognition of the customary rights of iwi, hapū and whānau in the common marine and coastal area”. This legislation replaced the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004. It allows Māori whanau [family], hapu [subtribe] and iwi [tribe] groups to apply for recognition orders in specific areas of the coastal marine area. Continue reading

‘Co-governance’ is an emerging and developing model of decision-making in New Zealand. The term refers to a shared governance arrangement - with representatives of iwi on one side, and representatives of central and/or local government on the other, each side having equal voting rights at the decision-making table. Continue reading

The Northern Ireland governing system established 25 years ago is set up as a power-sharing style of government that relies on the cooperation of different social groups. This arrangement has not delivered the normalised, shared, and de-polarised democracy which was promised by political leaders and pro-consociation theoreticians. It has serious flaws, many of which have become apparent over time. Continue reading

Callum Purves writes – “The lesson from Northern Ireland is, however well-intentioned, co-government rarely works in practice. It can bring government to a standstill, undermines democratic accountability, and often exacerbates the divisions it is designed to deal with.” Continue reading

The Human Rights Commission (HRC) is supposedly an independent Crown entity, but this is no longer the case. It appears to be greatly influenced by the National Iwi Chairs’ Forum, a group seeking a profound change to the existing political order. Continue reading

Last month, Julian Batchelor of Stop Co-Governance held a public meeting at the Orewa Community Centre to raise awareness of the dangers of co-governance, and to gather political support to stop it. However, a rabble of badly behaved people sparked a noisy counter protest. This was obviously an attempt to sabotage the event to prevent Mr Batchelor from airing his views. Continue reading

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) wants to hear directly from the public about human rights in New Zealand. It is currently hosting public meetings, open to everyone, in eight cities around the country over March, April and May. Continue reading

Below is a copy of our written and oral submissions on the Natural and Built Environment Bill and Spatial Planning Bill. Continue reading

The juggernaut advancing major constitutional changes to the way our country is governed continues to roll on, much of it flying under the radar. The Government’s radical restructuring agenda includes a review of local government, the purpose of which is “to identify how our system of local democracy and governance needs to evolve over the next 30 years, to improve the wellbeing of New Zealand communities and the environment, and actively embody Te Tiriti partnership”. Continue reading