An "Assault on Democracy"?

As part of their coalition agreement following the 2008 General Election, the National and the Māori parties signed up to undertake a review of New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements.  It is seen, by some, as democracy enabled by MMP.

We are part-way through that review process which is called  “The Constitution Conversation”.  (More at www.cap.govt.nz)

Some people are unhappy that such a review is going on at all.  “Why have a Constitution?”, they say, “it could lead to all sorts of mischief”.

For them, a central bone of contention is the role of the Treaty of Waitangi.  Some suspect that the Treaty would be moved to centre-stage and then become entrenched – or, as we say, “set in concrete”.
The dissenting guest in this week's "In Conversation with Noel Cheer" on Face Television is the founder of the New Zealand Centre for Political Research, Dr Muriel Newman.

"In Conversation with Noel Cheer", Face Television, Monday April 29th at 7:00pm, repeated on Tuesday April 30th at 12 noon.

Face Television, the home of public broadcasting, is found on Sky Television Channel 89 (after May 1, channel 83) and can also be received in the Auckland region on UHF Channels 41, 42 and 52.  It is also live-streamed on www.ecasttv.co.nz.  The website www.facetv.co.nz carries programme schedules.   Some recent episodes of In Conversation can be viewed at www.youtube.com/user/NoelCheer

"In Conversation with Noel Cheer" receives funding from New Zealand on Air.  This has enabled us to introduce viewers to over 250 New Zealanders on Air (as well as visitors to New Zealand) during more than six years of unbroken weekly public-interest broadcasting.

ENDS

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