In 2010 Matike Mai o Aotearoa (the Independent Working Group on Constitutional
Transformation) was tasked by the Iwi Chairs’ Forum
“to develop and implement a model for an inclusive Constitution for Aotearoa
based on tikanga
and kawa,
He Whakaputanga o Te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tireni
(1835), Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840),
and other indigenous human rights instruments which enjoy a wide degree of international
recognition”, like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples.
In 2015, the Working Group reported
their findings and recommendations which are based on the people’s feedback
from more than 300 hui, as well as
numerous written submissions, completed questionnaires, focus groups and
one-on-one interviews.
Their report is written
in five parts and to date this column has covered Part One which discusses the Nature of Constitutions and Part Two which looks at various Constitutional
Foundations. This week we begin to cover Part Three which lays
out the Constitutional Values that arose from the people’s kōrero.
[1]Sometimes the “values talk” was quite
explicit; other times it was implied in the way people discussed tikanga or the
nature of the relationships that a constitution should guarantee. At a number
of hui the kind of equal constitutionalism provided for in Te Tiriti was itself
seen as a value.
Other values ranged from the importance of
the land, to respect for all living things. This included the prime
relationship with the natural world and an understanding that the wellbeing of
humans depended upon the well-being of Papātūānuku as a living
entity rather than a resource.
Another value that was frequently referred
to was the equality of men and women and the preservation of good relationships
between people in general. There was also a belief that a constitution should
enhance the sense of belonging that Te Tiriti reaffirmed for Māori and offered to others.
Some of the values that were identified
were more structural and related to constitutional conventions such as
transparency and fair representation. They included a requirement that a
constitution should have specific provisions to promote equality and
intergenerational fairness as well as specific mechanisms to e
nsure that the rights and obligations of Māori were not subordinated to those of the majority.
nsure that the rights and obligations of Māori were not subordinated to those of the majority.
In the Working Group’s considered view, the
identification of such values, and the serious and lengthy consideration people
gave to them, indicates a very real desire for a more responsive and open
constitutionalism. It also indicates in their view a hope that a constitution
based on Te Tiriti would allow for what they describe as a conciliatory and
consensual democracy rather than the adversarial and majoritarian one that currently
exists in this country.
Next week we will cover the Working Group’s
summary of the key constitutional values identified from the people’s korero,
and in the following weeks we will consider each of those values in detail.
[1] Twenty-fifth edited extract from p. 68 of He Whakaaro Here Whakaumu Mō Aotearoa – The Report of Matike
Mai o Aotearoa
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