This
is the prime minister saying that a National-controlled parliament
can ride roughshod over the country’s constitutional arrangement.
He
may be talking about one specific issue but what he means is more
general than that and he has the TPPA and recolonisation by the
corporations in mind
Key:
Parliament's wishes 'supreme' over Treaty
21
March, 2016
The
Government is caught up in a legal battle over the proposed removal
of Maori fishing rights in the Kermadecs, 1000km northeast of New
Zealand.
A
new sanctuary in the area would see all fishing banned, despite a
1992 Treaty of Waitangi settlement giving all Maori customary and
commercial fishing rights.
Just
two iwi were consulted on the plans, and Labour MP for Te Tai Tonga,
Rino Tirikatene, is appalled.
"These
rights are ongoing and evolving. The Crown knows that, they've been
caught out, they thought they could pull a swifty on Maori, and they
clearly haven't done their homework and they haven't fulfilled their
obligations as a good Treaty partner."
The
Government's previously said Maori can fish elsewhere because the
fish in the sanctuary are migratory species and will move to other
parts of the ocean.
Appearing
on the Paul Henry programme this morning, Prime Minister John Key
said Parliament is "supreme" and can "pass whatever
laws it wants".
"This
is the single largest gift New Zealand's ever given, if you like, in
environmental terms in the ocean. It's massive," he says.
"The
argument always seems to me from Maori that they want to preserve the
environment for their mokopuna, and here we are doing this thing
which is enormous on a world scale."
Papers
were filed in the High Court by the Maori Fisheries Trust late last
week.
"These
are customary rights based on the Treaty," says Mr Tirikatene.
"Maori have a reasonable expectation to ensure that these rights
exist and will be there for future generations."
Mr
Key rejects criticism he should have consulted with more than just
two iwi before making the proposal.
"We
made the call on what we believe is, I think, a widespread view of
New Zealanders that this is the right thing to do. Every single
political party in Parliament voted for it. But look, people have the
right to test things in court."
The
plan covers 620,000 square kilometres in the northeastern corner of
New Zealand's exclusive economic zone.
Newshub
PM
pays cameraman out in defamation case
Bradley
Ambrose joins Jon Stephenson and Nicky Hager as journalists who have
had to be paid out by the Government or employ legal measures after
Key has slandered and denigrated them.
Bradley
Ambrose joins Jon Stephenson and Nicky Hager as journalists who have
had to be paid out by the Government or employ legal measures after
Key has slandered and denigrated them.
This
attack on the media should lead the news and give insight to the very
cold heart of John Key and the ramifications to our democracy but it
won’t because the Batchelor has a double elimination coming up and
the context of these actions must be put to one side and never
explored
As you can see this is not the only area where Maori are not being consulted.
Professor
Jane Kelsey confronts John Key's claim that Maori were consulted
widely and engaged with actively prior to and during the TPP
negotiations
Professor Jane Kelsey confronts John Key's claim that Maori were consulted widely and engaged with actively prior to and during the TPP negotiations
Posted by Gerard Otto on Saturday, 19 March 2016
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