Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Ae Marika: Bill to ruin dreams of Maori lawyers

Ae Marika:
Bill to ruin dreams of aspiring Maori lawyers

Last week, the Treaty of Waitangi (Removal of Conflict of Interest) Amendment Bill was tabled. It proposes that Maori should not sit on land cases where they might be related to people involved in the case.

What that means is that if I had gone to law school because I wanted to help Maori with their land issues, as many thousands of other Maori have done already, and I had worked studiously to enhance my knowledge of Maori land law, Maori customary law and general land law, again, as many thousands of other Maori have done already, my future prospects would all of a sudden come to a crashing halt because of this bill.

It would mean I could not sit on any case in the North Island simply because of my lineage. It would mean all the skills and legal experience I’d gained would be worthless. It would make nearly impossible in fact, for Maori to judge Maori land issues, and indeed, to even sit on the Waitangi Tribunal itself.

This is a bill I might have credited to a bigot, a redneck, a racist, or just a plain idiot. I am ashamed to say however, that this bill was not only tabled by a Maori, it was tabled by a whanaunga of mine from Ngati Hine, Mr Pita Paraone. Shame shame shame.

Seems to me in fact, that if there is any conflict of interest, then it’s coming from government itself, which has over the past few years tried very hard to intimidate the courts, and force them into acting according to the politics of the day, rather than legal principle. Since the bill to steal the foreshore and seabed first came up, we have seen:

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

The Deputy PM accusing the Chief Justice of judicial activism and calling her a ‘shop steward’;

The PM questioning Judge Caren Wickliffe’s right to find against the Crown because Wickliffe is part of the Ngati Porou tribe who were taking the case;

And the Deputy PM again criticising Chief Maori Land Court Judge Joe Williams for publicising a customary rights application – a criticism he was forced to withdraw.

So bad has been the intimidation in fact, that the Chief Justice has been moved to say that she believes that “judicial independence is at risk.”

Perhaps government should leave the courts to do their job, and concentrate on their own job – stealing elections with money they weren’t supposed to spend and cutting deals with the devil to stay in power.

ENDS

www.tokerau.co.nz

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.