May 21, 2013
Māori engaging with constitution panel
A member of the government’s constitutional advisory panel is pleased at the amount of engagement it is getting from Māori.
Linda Tuhiwai Smith says when the panel was set up at the behest of the Māori Party, some argued there was little appetite for a national conversation on constitutional issues.
But people at the various community meetings and hui have responded to the questions it is asking about whether New Zealand needs a written constitution.
“Māori have been thinking about constitutional issues for a long time. When you discuss the treaty, you’re thinking about how our country is run and that’s one of the big questions we’re asking. What is the role of the treaty or what is the role of the Treaty of Waitangi in our constitutional arrangements?,” Linda Tuhiwai Smith says.
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