August 29, 2023
Treaty missing from waipiro law
A South Auckland Māori warden who took a Waitangi tribunal claim over the proliferation of alcohol outlets says the passing of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Amendment (Community Participation) Bill is a small step in the right direction.
Dave Ratu says the bill removes some of the handicaps that stopped people speaking up against outlets in their neighbourhoods, including the removal of appeals whoch allowed the process to drag on.
But he says there’s no mention of the Treaty of Waitangi, no requirement for Maori to be represented on the district licensing committees, and no acknowledgement that tikanga should be part of the process.
“Looking at wahi tapu, marae, kihanga reo, kura kaupapa, whare kura, we should be able to address at that district licensing committee level that bottle stores shold not be there. Until such time as the Act is changed to reflect that, that wahi tapu as determined by Maori forms part of the legislation, we are still going to be in this space 20 years down the track,” Mr Ratu says.