Opinions

ROGER PARTRIDGE: The Crown versus The People: Reclaiming New Zealand’s democratic story

Turn on the news and you will hear endless references to the Crown: “Crown obligations,” “Crown land,” “Crown Treaty settlements.” Politicians make decisions “on behalf of the Crown.” Courts issue rulings about what “the Crown” must do. Yet ask Kiwis what this “Crown” actually is, and many will give blank stares. Continue reading

Zoran Rakovic: Thin Wedge of Reform: Why Independent MPs May Save New Zealand’s Democracy from Its Party Captors

A critical essay arguing that political parties undermine true democracy in NZ and promoting independent MPs as a reformative force under MMP. Continue reading

Roger Partridge: When “Forfeited to the Crown” Means “Returned to the Defendant”

When Parliament says gang insignia “is forfeited to the Crown,” citizens are entitled to assume those words mean what they say. Yet on 11 August the District Court ruled otherwise. Judge Lance Rowe directed that a Mongrel Mob vest, seized under the Government’s new Gangs Act 2024 and forfeited following a guilty plea, should nevertheless be returned to its owner, Andrew “Andy” Leef. Continue reading

Roger Partridge: Who Makes the Law? Reining in the Supreme Court

Recent decisions from New Zealand’s Supreme Court have sparked widespread alarm. They show a court that has misunderstood its role and overstepped its bounds. The Court’s approach raises a very serious question for voters: Just who makes the law in New Zealand? Is it democratically elected politicians or unaccountable judges? Continue reading

Roger Partridge: Supreme Court matters: constitutional predators or constitutional guardians?

When a constitutional law professor warns of “dangerous foes” threatening New Zealand’s legal system, you might expect concern about genuinely destabilising forces – political interference with judicial independence, or threats to the rule of law itself. You would be wrong. Continue reading

Zoran Rakovic: Tick-Tock Tikanga: The Perverse Core of Bicultural Legality

What happens when tikanga Māori becomes binding law but only some may interpret it? This piece challenges the legitimacy of biculturalism in NZ’s legal system. Continue reading

Zoran Rakovic: Your Rates, Their Treaty: How Local Democracy Was Quietly Rewritten

Are Māori wards lawful? This article examines how local councils unlawfully carry Crown Treaty duties—reshaping democracy under legal error. Continue reading

Zoran Rakovic: Co-Governance or Co-Dependence? The Broken Logic of Treaty "Partnership"

Can Māori be at the same time equal partners to the Crown and its protected beneficiaries? This commentary exposes the contradiction at the heart of the Treaty "partnership" claim. Continue reading

Zoran Rakovic: Te Tiriti Obligations Quietly Shifted Into the Backyards of Private Citizens

Opinion on why New Zealand’s Crown cannot legally transfer its Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations to private landowners under section 6 of the RMA. Continue reading

Elizabeth Rata: Democracy’s Three Pillars and Partial Loyalty

Democracy’s Pillars  The pillars are:   The citizenix – the individual who bears political and legal rights – not the racialised group member.   The state – the governing infrastructure of parliament,  systems of law, education, health and so on, regulator of public resources such as water, foreshore and seabed, flora and fauna, radio waves.  The nation – at once a geographic entity and a symbol of a unified though historically diverse people who muddle along together in liberal civil society.  Continue reading