April 13, 2021
Justice with kindness aim of Maori knight
The country’s newest knight says Māori judges bring a unique perspective to the bench.
Justice Sir Joe Williams, the first Māori to serve on the Supreme Court, was formally invested by Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy at his home marae in Manaia on the Coromandel peninsula on Saturday.
He says the honour was not for him but the tribe and community that made him from Ngāti Pūkenga, Waitaha and Tapuika.
It’s a reminder of the heavy burdens that come with the job.
"We judges, and there are number of Māori judges now, spend too much of our time judging our own people in circumstances they ought not to be in. That's always a burden and that's the point. And what Māori judges, not just me but all Māori judges, bring to the table is that recognition this is a heavy responsibility that must be discharged with care and kindness," he says
Justice Sir Joe Williams says the investiture was a chance for his judicial colleagues to see te ao Māori at its best
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