The Hirangi Hui and Constitutional Reform
The first major Hui in response to the “Government’s Proposals for the Settlement of Treaty Claims” was held at Hirangi Marae, Turangi on 29th January 1995 at the call of Sir Hepi Te Heuheu. Over 1000 people attended the Hui representing major tribes from both the North and South Islands.
After looking at the Crown’s proposals and finding them inadequate the Hui proposed an alternate approach. It reads as follows:
“Constitutional Change
Although the 1986 New Zealand Constitution Act officially set New Zealand free to decide its own laws and make its own constitutional arrangements, until recently there has been no move to make any major changes to the system imposed by the British parliament in the 1852 New Zealand Constitution Act.
A Treaty Based Constitution
The need for a clear constitution was reiterated at Hirangi. According to those making submissions Maori are not content to depend on the goodwill of successive Governments or to be exposed to inconsistent policies developed to suit the needs of Pakeha. Progress in one decade all too frequently must be revisited a decade later. Despite repeated calls for the Treaty of Waitangi to be entrenched as a constitutional document, it dangles precariously in front of Governments who have other agendas and often little sympathy with Maori aspirations. The Hui concluded that greater certainty was needed. As the nation gears itself for a debate on major constitutional reform (republicanism, a new flag, a N.Z. Honours system, the implementation of M.M.P.) it is an opportune time to develop a constitutional covenant based on the Treaty of Waitangi. Until this occurs Maori identity and security will forever run the risk of being compromised.
The Development of a Constitution for New Zealand
The terms of the Government’s proposals for the settlement of Treaty of Waitangi claims give little reason to believe that there has been any fundamental move away from a colonial mind set and towards a system of laws and policies which encompass modern New Zealand’s unique heritage and origins. Were it to be guided by a Treaty based constitution, the Hui considered that the Crown (or its republic equivalent) might not necessarily assume ownership over the beds of lakes or rivers or model a New Zealand common law exclusively on the British system or even conclude the sovereignty could not be shared between the Crown and Maori.
Maori organisations have long since entertained the possibility of shared political decision making and speakers confirmed that several Maori organisations are already considering the ways in which constitutional arrangements might give greater expression to the reality of tino rangatiratanga. The common aim is to enable Maori policy to be formulated by Maori, legislation which impacts on Maori to be approved by Maori and Maori representatives on national bodies to be appointed by Maori. A Maori parliament, a Maori house within a parliament, a Maori/Pakeha senate and a national Maori assembly have all been seriously proposed.
At the Hirangi Hui, however, there was agreement that what matters now is not so much the details of a Treaty based constitution or the flow-on constitutional arrangements but a commitment to a constitutional review jointly undertaken by Maori and the Crown for the purpose of developing a New Zealand constitution based on the Treaty of Waitangi and, among other things, fully recognising the position of Maori as Tangata Whenua. Hui participants discounted the possibility of durable Treaty settlements without fresh constitutional guarantees and a final break with colonial laws and processes”.
(Pages 9 & 10 used with permission)
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