Post by Kiwi Frontline on May 16, 2023 14:54:47 GMT 12
Chris Trotter: LABOUR AND NATIONAL SHOULD DEFER SIGNIFICANT CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE......
Like it or not, however, the pressure to enshrine te Tiriti at the heart of our constitutional structures continues to grow. “What to do about ‘The Treaty’?”, is certain to be one of the key questions dominating the forthcoming election campaign. This is not because our political leaders have finally decided to bite the bullet on constitutional reform, it’s because Māori activists – both legal and political – have finally forced the issue onto New Zealand’s short-term political agenda.
Both of the major parties have been caught in a pincer-movement. From the left, Te Pāti Māori (TPM) has made it clear that constitutional reform must be part of any coalition and/or support agreement involving itself, Labour and the Greens. From the right, the Act Party is insisting that any conservative coalition government must commit itself to, first, defining te Tiriti’s meaning and scope, and then, confirming that definition by referendum.
The moment it becomes clear to non-Māori New Zealanders just how violently TPM’s reforms would re-arrange the country’s constitutional furniture their reaction is likely to sink any chance of a centre-left victory. By the same token, an affirmative referendum vote for a re-definition reducing te Tiriti to a mere constitutional flourish would be the signal for an unleashing of racial conflict on a scale unprecedented since the land wars of the 1860s.....
breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2023/05/chris-trotter-labour-and-national.html
Like it or not, however, the pressure to enshrine te Tiriti at the heart of our constitutional structures continues to grow. “What to do about ‘The Treaty’?”, is certain to be one of the key questions dominating the forthcoming election campaign. This is not because our political leaders have finally decided to bite the bullet on constitutional reform, it’s because Māori activists – both legal and political – have finally forced the issue onto New Zealand’s short-term political agenda.
Both of the major parties have been caught in a pincer-movement. From the left, Te Pāti Māori (TPM) has made it clear that constitutional reform must be part of any coalition and/or support agreement involving itself, Labour and the Greens. From the right, the Act Party is insisting that any conservative coalition government must commit itself to, first, defining te Tiriti’s meaning and scope, and then, confirming that definition by referendum.
The moment it becomes clear to non-Māori New Zealanders just how violently TPM’s reforms would re-arrange the country’s constitutional furniture their reaction is likely to sink any chance of a centre-left victory. By the same token, an affirmative referendum vote for a re-definition reducing te Tiriti to a mere constitutional flourish would be the signal for an unleashing of racial conflict on a scale unprecedented since the land wars of the 1860s.....
breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2023/05/chris-trotter-labour-and-national.html