Talk of a referendum on Maori seats was revived, briefly, last week when Acting Prime Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters called for a two-pronged referendum on whether they should be entrenched or should go altogether.

Crown-Maori relations are in need of repair, according to Kelvin Davis, who is the Minister of the new Crown-Maori Relations portfolio.

For those following the long-running shambles to do with tribal claims for the coast, Friday is the deadline for submissions on the Nga Rohe Moana o Nga Hapu o Ngati Porou Bill (No. 2), which gives effect to a deed of agreement between Ngati Porou and the Crown for around 200 km of the East Coast coastline north of Gisborne.

We posted full-page adverts this week to advertise the fact that claimed Treaty partnership between the Crown and “Maori” is constitutionally impossible. The adverts were prompted by meetings being conducted by Crown-Maori Relations Minister Kelvin Davis, often at private maraes.

Maori wards became an issue of national significance over the past week after five districts voted against them and while a handful of politicians said they want to change the law to outlaw such referenda.

We’re into the last week of the Maori wards debate and what have we learned?

1.Only 55 percent of Maori voters are on the Maori roll, which means that 45 percent of Maori voters would vote on the general roll in council elections.

Wairiki MP Tamati Coffey found out in Whakatane what we found out while collecting signatures for petitions for a vote, that many people haven’t a clue about what proposals for Maori wards entail.

When retired computer pioneer Bruce Moon planned to give a talk to the Nelson Institute a week ago on how the Treaty of Waitangi had been twisted he was surprised to have permission to talk at the Nelson City Library suddenly withdrawn.

With the census done and dusted, citizens of Maori descent may now choose whether to vote on either the Maori or general roll.

The Auckland Council is seeking feedback on a 10-year budget and Auckland Plan 2050 and tucked in there is a whole series of questions on Maori identity and wellbeing.

On Thursday, Hamilton mayor Andrew King dropped his plan to get the city council to consider changing the name of the council to the Kirikiriroa City Council.

“Words” spoken between Crown/Maori Relations Minister Kelvin Davis, Finance Minister Grant Robertson, and Environment Minister David Parker on Monday prompted Stuff reporter Jo Moir to surmise on how the battle lines are drawn between coalition partners on water rights.

A mass haka at Waitangi at 3pm on Friday, March 9, 2018, probably timed for the 6pm news, will kick off the first national tribal rebellions day.

Petitions in both Palmerston North and Kaikoura were validated on Wednesday, which means that all five districts where councils have voted to establish Maori wards will have a vote in May on whether or not those should proceed.

Campaigners in Manawatu, Western Bay of Plenty, and Whakatane have taken sufficient signatures to their respective councils to trigger polls on proposals for Maori wards in their areas.

Closing the gap between Maori and everyone else in terms of inequality in education, incarceration, poverty and employment was how the news media reported New Zealand’s national day on Tuesday.

At Ratana Pa last Wednesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern kicked off the political year when she said “we will never have fulfilled our obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi or the prophesies of Ratana” until “we” have improved Maori social indicators.

Two iwi have quietly been paid huge top-ups, totalling $370 million, to their supposed "full and final" Treaty of Waitangi settlements, Stuff reported today. Waikato-Tainui received $190 million and the South Island's Ngai Tahu $180 million – more than they originally settled for in 1995 and 1998, respectively.

Over the holiday period, Hobson’s Pledge has focused on collecting signatures for five petitions on proposals for Maori wards in Western Bay of Plenty, Whakatane, Manawatu, Palmerston North and Kaikoura. With a deadline of February 21, one district has already surpassed its goal with the others having made varying degrees of progress.

Councils in Palmerston North, Manawatu, Whakatane, and Western Bay of Plenty have decided to proceed with Maori wards, so it is over to residents in those areas to have their say.

After reviewing our campaign over the past year in light of the general election result, Hobson’s Pledge members chose to continue as a lobby group.

New Zealand now has a government described by The Australian newspaper as a coalition of the losers put together by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who promptly reneged on his campaign pledge for a referendum on whether or not to continue with separate Maori seats.

The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 has a number of problems, according to a legal opinion obtained by Hobson’s Pledge on correspondence relating to the Act and the huge number of last-minute claims by Maori groups earlier this year. Wellington law firm Franks Ogilvie wrote:

Why are the Auckland Council, Napier City Council, and Palmerston North City Council currently considering Maori wards? This is because they are required to do so by legislation, most especially Section 19 Z of the Local Electoral Act 2001, which allows all councils the option of establishing Maori constituencies or wards by resolution of council. If councils decide to establish Maori wards, the decision can be challenged by a poll of all voters.

With 46 percent support, National could form a government with NZ First that could look beyond paternalistic policies intended to “improve the lot of Maori”.