Dunne and the Kiwi identity

United Future leader Peter Dunne today rebutted the claim that the call for a wide-ranging inquiry into New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements was simply an intellectual exercise for pointy-headed academics and lawyers.

He told a lunchtime meeting at legal firm Kensington Swan in Wellington today that many of the problems New Zealand is encountering stem from the lack of a well-defined sense of a New Zealand identity.

“Quite apart from the intense national debate over whether the All Black backline should stand flat or in a deeper formation, we see squabbling over the establishment of the Supreme Court; the row over the role of the Judiciary vs Parliament; and further argument about New Zealand's place in the world.

“The allegations that we are shunning our traditional allies and our relations with the US and Australia have dramatically soured, all stem from a lack of clear New Zealand identity.

“In part, this is caused by mixed policy signals in terms of our population mix and the role of immigration and culture i.e., multiculturalism v biculturalism etc.

“But in large part, I say it is due to ambiguity over our constitutional arrangements – the role of the Treaty of Waitangi, our lack of a written constitution, whether we should be a republic etc.

“And that’s why United Future says we need a fundamental review of our constitutional arrangements. It will help establish our nationhood, our identity, and thus enable us to better resolve issues relating to New Zealand’s place in the world and the role we should play,” said Mr Dunne.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>