16 November 2004

Nandor to represent Greens on important Inquiry

The Green Caucus has today appointed Treaty and Constitutional Issues Spokesperson Nandor Tanczos to represent the Party on the Select Committee Inquiry into the Constitution.

"Constitutional stuff can be pretty abstract, but this Inquiry will be going to the core of what it is that allows the Police to turn you over or for Inland Revenue to make you pay tax," said Nandor.

"Many people don't believe we even have a constitution, so this will be an important clarification of where political legitimacy springs from in Aotearoa in the early Twenty-First Century.

"This will not simply be going over territory already mapped out in the Cabinet Manual. The sources of constitutional power are easy to identify, but what do these traditions and mechanisms actually mean in practice? The 'stocktake' is tallying up the machinery that the State uses to manufacture everyone's consent.

"But I also need to make it clear that I reject the call from some politicians for the Inquiry to go beyond its terms of reference and start proposing what constitutional change is needed. A Select Committee should outline the process for public debate, not predetermine its outcome."

Nandor said that the Greens have been broadly discussing these terms of reference with the Government since the Supreme Court Act passed with their support last year and he looked forward to taking part.

ENDS

© Scoop Media