We cannot rely on our courts.
The judiciary has been captured by the divisive ideology that separates New Zealanders into two groups - Māori and non-Māori - and assigns rights based on this.
Today, the Court of Appeals overturned the High Court decision that said the Waitangi Tribunal had erred in issuing a summons to the Minister for Children Karen Chhour. The new decision says that the Tribunal has an important constitutional role and full powers of a commission of inquiry.
We have to be strategic. The courts may be captured but the Government has made several promises in their coalition agreements to unwind racist policy and law. We must demand they end the Waitangi Tribunal now.
Here's why:
- It was always meant to be a temporary standing commission and it is nearly 50 years old
- It has been radicalised and is now run by activists rather than legal experts
- The bulk of Treaty settlements have been achieved and all remaining and future cases can be heard through the court system or negotiated directly with the Crown
- It has steadily pushed the boundaries of its purpose and power and is asserting the right to interfere with Government policy
- Helen Clark's Labour Government introduced a September 2008 deadline for the lodgement of all historic claims and that has well passed
SIGN OUR PETITION TO END THE WAITANGI TRIBUNAL
The only way we can achieve our goal of equality of all New Zealanders is by dismantling the systems that have been set up and manipulated to consolidate power in the hands of iwi.
The Waitangi Tribunal has done its dash. It served an important role in righting historical wrongs, but in recent years has begun creating new wrongs.
It is time to wrap up the Tribunal. Sign our petition now.
If we don't achieve change with this Government, we may well never get the opportunity again. National appears to be the handbrake on this Government taking definitive steps toward removing race from our constitution. Winston Peters and David Seymour need to be able to demonstrate that they have public support so that they can carry Christopher Luxon, however reluctantly, over the line.
We need to get as many signatures as possible to show that the silent majority don't care what the media or academics say. We want change and we voted for it. Sign our petition to show that you support removing racist institutions.
If you agree that it is now or never and that we must push the Government to take action so that the courts can't run roughshod over our rights, sign our petition and then share it with everyone you know.
I feel quite ill thinking about how far down the rabbit hole our judiciary has gone. But given the Waitangi Tribunal is not a court, it is a standing commission of inquiry, the Government has power to disestablish it. That is where we must begin.
At least if the Waitangi Tribunal goes there will be one less lever for the activists to pull.