Podcasts about he puapua

I think part of the comfort we should take around the so-called "rabid outbreak" of free speech this week is that words don't automatically lead to anything. You've got your two prime examples: Chloe Swarbrick and her outburst on Palestine, and Willie Jackson and his outburst on a potential vote over the Treaty.  The difference is one has an implied threat and the other doesn't. Swarbrick should never have said what she said, it's inflammatory.  You have a responsibility as an elected member of Parliament to try and be at least a little bit moderate. But the upset is about her comments specifically, not what might come out of them because little, if anything, will come out of them.  You could argue she adds to the fear that Jews may be feeling right now. So yes, it's highly irresponsible and the fact she doesn't apologise, or get it, makes it worse. But can I ask - what else do you expect?  But with Willie, and might I add that Debbie Ngarewa-Packer of Maori Party and Marama Davidson of the Greens might have suggested something similar, they are talking action.  "Civil disobedience five or ten times worse than the Springbok tour". Now, the trouble with that is that is a straight up-and-down threat.  There is no disguising what that is.  What we are actually talking about here is a vote, a referendum. A question for the people of this country as to how we deal with the Treaty.  The Treaty has been interpreted in a way by the previous Government that many don't like. You could actually argue their treatment of the Treaty may well lead to the sort of result they fear, if it ever got put to a vote.  But that is the insidious thing, isn't it? It never got put to a vote. Things like He Puapua were secret, so have they dug their own grave.  Could it be different if they had been more inclusive? Either way the threat is against democracy. They don't like democracy.  These are people to be feared. Not because they may hit the streets, but because they don't want the rest of us to have a say and they hope before they hit the street they can scare us into submission.  Democracy thrives in sunlight free speech and the exchange of ideas, not anger, bitterness and fear.  But that is what they are selling. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's podcast: Professor James Allan last guested in podcast 160. The subject was He Puapua. He returns to discuss our election, Jordan Peterson, The Voice, and Trumps legal challenges. Jim encourages any so-called conservative parties to “fight the culture wars”. Has any party in New Zealand got the required courage? Is there “weaponised collusion” between The White House and the DOJ? And what are the top universities and law schools teaching? It's a broad and energetic conversation. And finally, we visit The Mailroom with Mrs Producer. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio Leighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leighton is on summer break, so we are highlighting some of his favourite guests from 2022. He Puapua, the report commissioned by the Ardern government, was completed in 2019 and secreted from the public.Its existence was revealed after the 2021 election. There is belief that Labour would have suffered badly if it had been made public.Constitutional Law Professor James Allan has written an analysis of He Puapua, and the reading of it is not pretty.  File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio Leighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NZ First leader Winston Peters —who served as Ardern's Deputy Prime Minister in her first term— isn't surprised by her resignation, which he's put down to failures in this term. He says the Labour Government has been in serious trouble post 2020, as has the Prime Minister. Peters had earlier ruled-out working with Labour, citing the He Puapua report which Labour kept secret from NZ First when they were in Government. He says this position has not changed despite Ardern's resignation, stating that 'they don't get to lie to him twice'. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's backdown on entrenching that part of the Three Waters legislation was about as well orchestrated as it could have been. We got the release about 8am yesterday — unusual to be honest — and Chris Hipkins was available to speak to it on ZB just after 9 with Francesca. What a stroke of luck! That opens the door to the Opposition parties to have their say and I suspect that on a bad day for them, the Government's spin team would have been willing to see it play out in the 6pm telly news. So how fortuitous that Pharmac's announcement on the drug for Cystic Fibrosis was embargoed till 6pm. And obviously, given the amount of prep work that had gone into the reports on that, there'd been a couple of days warning at least. So the Three Waters backdown came in about third or fourth — coincidence? I don't think anyone emerges covered in glory over this entrenchment. Chris Luxon's belated outrage doesn't really cut the mustard. His own team should have flagged about the constitutional issues when the paper was slipped into the urgency debate. They voted against of course, but even National's Paul Goldsmith has admitted he didn't realise the significance of it at the time. It took a bunch of private citizens — constitutional lawyers and legal academics, to wake us up to what was going on. One of the best things I've read about why Three Waters is so evil was written a couple of years back by Jason Smith — Dr Smith at the time was the Kaipara Mayor. He was involved in a lot of talks and workshops about it, and his conclusion was that Three Waters is a trojan horse. Look up that phrase online and you'll find his thoughts. You'll also see what he makes of another common phrase around Wellington right now "the tyranny of the majority". Conclusion: Three Waters is a trojan horse for a major shift in the way we run the country. And the entrenchment idea was a trojan horse, within that trojan horse. Wait till you see what they want to do with He Puapua.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's podcast: We speak to Muriel Newman, from the NZ Centre for Political Research, on why New Zealanders need to make their voices heard.We talk separatist government, the water debate (that shouldn't even be happening), He Puapua (whatever that means), farming, and other damage the Arden government is inflicting on New Zealand.And Patrick Basham, from the Democracy Institute, explains how the American midterm election results deserve a different perspective.As requested, a list of climate books that tell a different story.And, finally, we go to The Mailroom with Mrs Producer. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio Leighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Peter Williams is back on Taxpayer Talk with a highly anticipated interview with Auckland University's Dr Claire Charters.  Claire's research has focused on indigenous peoples' rights in international and constitutional law, including how the Treaty of Waitangi should interact with our legal system.Claire was one of the authors of the Government's controversial He Puapua report that, among other things, recommends a separate  Māori court system, health system and parliament. Peter sits down with Claire to discuss what path New Zealand's constitution should be taking and whether co-governance has a place within New Zealand.  Also this week, Peter discusses some of the correspondence sent through to him by the listeners.To support Taxpayer Talk, click hereIf you have any comments, questions or suggestions feel free to email peter@taxpayers.org.nzSupport the show

Winston Peters continues to take swings at the Government, with claims co-governance was never a discussion at the coalition table in 2017. The NZ First Leader says scrapping co-governance will be a deal-breaker if he's king-maker after next year's election. He told Mike Hosking Labour Party ministers left him in the dark about co-governance discussions when he was Deputy PM. “He Puapua was ordered and came to the Minister Mahuta and the Prime Minister said she didn't know about it, and I said post-election ‘well if you didn't know about it, and Mahuta heard it from you she should be sacked, and you're not sacking her then you did know.'” Jacinda Ardern is accusing Peters of making extreme and wrong statements, but won't rule out working with him again. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2010, the National Government signed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, joining more than 140 other countries; in 2019 the Labour Government set up a working group tasked with creating a plan to realise that commitment. The result is He Puapua, a discussion document whose title refers to the break between waves and evokes the concept of a disruption to political and legislative norms. Within days, it would become a political football, with some demanding a “national conversation”. So let's talk. Is this an opportunity or a threat for the country? Working group members, writers and lawyers Claire Charters (Ngāti Whakaue, Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi, Tainui) and Jacinta Ruru (Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Maniapoto) discuss sovereignty, mātauranga Māori and igniting the imagination with Moana Maniapoto (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa). Ara Kē, Ao Kē Series curated by Moana Maniapoto. Supported by Royal Society Te Apārangi. I te tau 2010, ka waitohu te Kāwanatanga Nāhinara i Te Whakapuakitanga a te Rūnanga Whakakotahi i ngā Iwi o te Ao mō ngā Mōtika o ngā Iwi Taketake, pēnei i ētahi whenua 140 neke atu; i te tau 2019 ka whakarite te Kāwanatanga Reipa i tētahi ohu mahi, ko tāna he waihanga i tētahi mahere e tutuki ai taua oati. Ko te hua, ko He Puapua, he tuhinga matapaki, ko tōna taitara e hāngai ana ki te whatinga o te ngaru, me te aha, nāna i pupū ai he whakaaro mō te whakarerekē i ngā āhuatanga ā-tōrangapū, ā-ture anō o te wā. Mea rawa ake, ka whakamahia hei tao tōrangapū, ko ētahi hoki e auē ana mō tētahi "whakawhitinga kōrero ā-motu." Ā kāti, kia kōrero tātou. He ara whai hua rānei, he kapatau rānei tēnei mō te motu? Ko ngā mema o te ohu mahi, ko ngā ringatuhi, ko ngā rōia anō, ko Claire Charters (Ngāti Whakaue, Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi, Tainui) rāua ko Jacinta Ruru (Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Maniapoto) ka kōrero mō te tino rangatiratanga, mō te mātauranga Māori, mō te hika anō i te kāpura pohewa, me Moana Maniapoto (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa). He mea tautoko nā Te Apārangi. Ara Kē, Ao Kē - Nā Moana Maniapoto tēnei kohinga i rauhī. AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL, WAITUHI O TĀMAKI SATURDAY 27 AUGUST – 12.30-1.30PM WAITĀKERE ROOM, AOTEA CENTRE

He PuaPua, the report commissioned by the Ardern government,  was completed in 2019 and secreted from the public.Its existence was revealed after the 2021 election. There is belief that Labour would have suffered badly if it had been made public.Constitutional Law Professor James Allan has written an analysis of He Puapua, and the reading of it is not pretty. Kim Dotcom reveals that he has written his most important ever twitter thread, we take a look at that.and we venture into The Mailroom with Mrs Producer.File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nzHaven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide.Listen here on iHeartRadioLeighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here

So, yet another red flag for you to be cognisant of.If the co-governance scandal isn't bad enough, if He Puapua isn't bad enough, if the mess the economy is currently in due to absurd spending and the resulting inflation isn't bad enough, get your head around what David Parker has been up to.He gave a speech yesterday about the inequity of the tax system. This comes off the back of him and his mates at the IRD ferreting around the dealings of the so-called wealthy. That was the special group set up to look at whatever they like under the guise that what they find won't be shared and all information gained will ultimately be destroyed. Whatever.But having got that exercise underway, he is now introducing a new bit of legislation that will, of course, become law.That would enshrine "principles" that they would assess tax policy against. What the hell does that mean? Who would know? In that, is the danger.This is like a minefield of ideology. There are things they are setting up and planting and reassuring all and sundry that there is nothing to see here, but in reality, these things will explode in your face.Is he introducing more tax rates? Higher tax rates? New tax rates? Oh no, no, no, not at this stage. Not with the polls the way they are and not with the mess they are currently wading through.  This is the sort of policy that will come to life after next year's election, if enough people are asleep or get sucked in.Officials will report on the tax system according to the principles, once again whatever that means. It means this government can't tax you enough. Because as we have seen with the inflationary mess and the growing debt level, no matter what we pay, they always want more.Also, people like Parker hate success. They hate people with money and are determined to get more off them.Why would they set up a unit within the IRD with no consultation whatsoever and simply go ferreting around people's incomes? Because they are bored? No, it's because they want to raid your pockets more than they already have.Between the co-governance, Three Waters, the scandal around the Māori seats in Rotorua, He Puapua, and now this, this government reeks of danger.They are up ending this country in a series of moves so radical unless we wake up and fast, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, yet another red flag for you to be cognisant of.If the co-governance scandal isn't bad enough, if He Puapua isn't bad enough, if the mess the economy is currently in due to absurd spending and the resulting inflation isn't bad enough, get your head around what David Parker has been up to.He gave a speech yesterday about the inequity of the tax system. This comes off the back of him and his mates at the IRD ferreting around the dealings of the so-called wealthy. That was the special group set up to look at whatever they like under the guise that what they find won't be shared and all information gained will ultimately be destroyed. Whatever.But having got that exercise underway, he is now introducing a new bit of legislation that will, of course, become law.That would enshrine "principles" that they would assess tax policy against. What the hell does that mean? Who would know? In that, is the danger.This is like a minefield of ideology. There are things they are setting up and planting and reassuring all and sundry that there is nothing to see here, but in reality, these things will explode in your face.Is he introducing more tax rates? Higher tax rates? New tax rates? Oh no, no, no, not at this stage. Not with the polls the way they are and not with the mess they are currently wading through.  This is the sort of policy that will come to life after next year's election, if enough people are asleep or get sucked in.Officials will report on the tax system according to the principles, once again whatever that means. It means this government can't tax you enough. Because as we have seen with the inflationary mess and the growing debt level, no matter what we pay, they always want more.Also, people like Parker hate success. They hate people with money and are determined to get more off them.Why would they set up a unit within the IRD with no consultation whatsoever and simply go ferreting around people's incomes? Because they are bored? No, it's because they want to raid your pockets more than they already have.Between the co-governance, Three Waters, the scandal around the Māori seats in Rotorua, He Puapua, and now this, this government reeks of danger.They are up ending this country in a series of moves so radical unless we wake up and fast, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's about sharing.That's how Willie Jackson's describing co-governance as he urges Kiwis to embrace an indigenous people's rights declaration.A draft plan is one step closer after consultation alongside Maori, including workshops with iwi, hapu, and health groups.Maori Development Minister Jackson told Andrew Dickens the declaration is not the controversial He Puapua report.He's defending the decision to only work with Maori so far.“Well because we have a treaty, you might've heard of it. And when you have a treaty, there's a special relationship between Maori and the Crown.”The previous National Government agreed to adopting the declaration more than a decade ago.LISTEN ABOVE

Bathing in the amber glow of the Orange Traffic Light Setting, Party People discusses all the latest in politics including Oranga Tamariki, Police Minister Poto Williams, Ukraine; Louisa Wall and He Puapua.

Non-Maori are being urged not to fear co-governance arrangements.It comes as the Government's set to consider the next steps in developing a plan around Maori self-determination.Cabinet is due to be handed feedback from Maori on the UN's declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.Consultation included talks around the He Puapua document, which suggests co-governance and Maori-run arrangements to address huge inequities facing Maori.National Maori Authority Chairman Matthew Tukaki told Mike Hosking there's nothing to be concerned about.He says it's all about trying to reverse negative statistics on Maori.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of two things is going on inside the government.One, they know they are in trouble and likely to lose the next election so they're going hell for leather and getting as much of their agenda in place as they can. Or are they literally are completely removed from the real world and don't have a clue?How else do you explain today's activity at Cabinet that involves them moving forward on Māori self-determination plans?The plan comes out of He Puapua, the document they have. They tried to pretend it didn't exist and when it did exist, they played it down as no big deal.The document that talks of separate parliaments, legal systems, and health services. What part of that can they possibly believe is a vote winner? What bit is the bit that excites middle New Zealand? What part of their plan to get re-elected involves going to ordinary, everyday New Zealanders and explaining that running separatist systems is something that we are all going to love and embrace?It's a vote killer, short of the clique of separatists who long for this nonsense. It is political death and yet here we are today looking to move it forward.It's also a two-fold debate. The first bit that has aggrieved so many is the fact this hasn't even been debated. No one asked us, we haven't talked about it, and it wasn't part of the election. It's a bit like three waters, what part of the election campaign featured three waters? It's been done in secret.The second part, even if you did debate it, what possible sense is there in going down a separatist path? What country having done down a separatist path thought they had made the right call?The Labour Party some of us have voted for in previous years was not this party. Labour was once centrist with a hint of the left. Their welfare was a little more generous, their social programmes a little more widespread, and the hiring policy in the public sector a little more liberal. But separatism has never been, nor should it, ever be part of any major political party in this country.The Māori Party? You expect it. But Labour? The party of Savage, Fraser, Nash, Nordmeyer, Lange, Palmer and Kirk? Come on.How has this been party been so badly hijacked by the radicals? Why is today's decision even on the agenda?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government will on Monday consider the next steps in developing a plan for Aotearoa to realise its international obligations around Māori self-determination.Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson will take a paper to a Cabinet committee with feedback from Māori on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and seeking approval start drafting a plan.It comes as the Act Party launches a campaign to have issues around co-governance - which would cover the role of the Declaration - put to a referendum, so the public can also decide what the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi should be.Last year Jackson launched a consultation process around implementing the Declaration, starting with Māori leaders and organisations.Following Cabinet sign-off, likely by April 5, work will begin work on a draft Declaration plan, scheduled to be released for consultation from June, with the aim of having a final plan signed off by the end of the year.Part of the consultation included discussions around the document He Puapua, produced in 2019 to advise how New Zealand could realise its commitments under the Declaration.The document included a roadmap to 2040 by which time it envisages various co-governance and Māori-run arrangements to address the huge inequities currently facing Māori.Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson. Photo / Mark MitchellThese include a separate Māori Parliament or upper house, health and justice systems, further return of Māori assets including foreshore and seabed, and recognition of cultural rights and equity.The document became a hot political topic in 2021, forcing the Government to rule out certain aspects like a separate Parliament.Jackson said it had been a good consultation process so far, but he wanted to reiterate the plan was "non-binding"."Despite what the other side says, that this will create a race riot, the feedback has been good. There have been some extreme views, but that's fine, it is a consultation process."I'm sure we will get some extreme views in the Pākehā process."But our job is simply to collate different views about what the Declaration should mean here, and get that into a document and make some decisions about how we commit to the charter."Jackson said the main feedback from Māori was around equity, in all aspects of life."Others want to totally replace the system, I've never been into that. I'd rather us be in the jobs themselves. We have five Māori ministers in Cabinet."New Zealand signed up to the Declaration in 2010 through then-Māori Affairs Minister and Māori Party co-leader Pita Sharples, under a National-led Government.New Zealand is one of 148 countries that support the Declaration. Canada last year backed the Declaration with legislation and will have a plan in place by next year.If New Zealand enacts the plan by the end of this year, it will be the first country in the world to do so.Meanwhile, Act Party leader David Seymour has launched a campaign to have a referendum on co-governance, also proposing the next Government pass legislation defining the Treaty of Waitangi principles, meaning it would be part of any discussions with a National Government.Co-governance arrangements have been a part of Treaty settlements - such as those reached under National in Te Urewera and the Waikato and Whanganui rivers - and at local government level.Act leader David Seymour. Photo / Mark MitchellSeymour said Labour was taking this further and "trying to make New Zealand an unequal society on purpose"."It believes there are two types of New Zealanders. Tangata whenua, who are here by right, and Tangata Tiriti who are lucky to be here."Seymour, who launched the campaign in a speech this week to the Milford Rotary Club in Auckland, said a "Treaty Principles Act" would be short but decisive, and prevail over any other determinations around the Treaty.Seymour said this would see New Zealand assert itself as a "multi-ethnic,...

The ACT party is calling for a referendum on co-governance. It says the country is abandoning liberal democracy and replacing it with an "ethno state" where there are two types of people: Tangata whenua, here by right, and tangata / tiriti, here by the grace of whatever the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal think the Treaty means. In a speech to the Milford Rotary Club yesterday he said "over the past forty years there has been a quiet shift in the way that the Treaty is interpreted". He says the problem is that "this shift is transforming our constitutional underpinnings, but has never been subject to public debate". Citing Three waters, the health reforms and He Puapua, Seymour says we are now seeking to create division. David Seymour says a referendum is a bottom-line in any coalition talks after next year's election. Seymour has declined Morning Report's offer to speak to him. Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer spoke to Guyon Espiner.

Between Chris Luxon and ANZ, the National Party in a single week have reshaped the political debate and increased their chances of winning next year by a lot, if not exponentially. Luxon was back into it yesterday, talking up tax cuts and slack government spending, he is onto a winner. ANZ came to his aid with their forecast of inflation at 7.5 percent, the Reserve Bank upping interest rates at 50 points a pop for the next 2 outings, ending with a cash rate at 3.5 percent, which means your mortgage most likely has a six in it. It helps cement the argument that things economically are a mile off course. And we have the consumer sentiment numbers that show we are miserable, the latest statistics tanked. Can we help a war? No. Can we help the price of oil? No. But a lot of the price increases, the crisis in the cost of living, is homegrown. It's the non-tradable inflation figure the Government can't hide from. It's the second-highest in the world behind America. That is what Luxon can run with and win with. Covid never got them anywhere because we are divided and over it. It was a debate around the margins. Borders, mandates, timelines, and so on. Tax is real, it's tangible, and everyone is a participant in the debate.  Everyone earns money, spends money, and is an expert when they don't have enough. They also know that on the average wage, you are not rich or anywhere close to it, and yet a chunk of your income is taxed at the highest level. Add GST and over half your income heads to the Government. No one argues that's good policy or economics. One of the theories for the Government's re-election was that by next year Covid should be mainly behind us. They can get on with trying to convince us Three Waters, He Puapua, trains, and compulsory job insurance is a good idea, and good government. What they didn't see coming, even though they've engineered a good chunk of it, is a recession. Is a cost-of-living crisis, possibly stagflation, the worst of all outcomes? Nothing undoes a government more quickly than people struggling to pay the bills, cutting back on groceries, and worrying about filling up the car. History will show you that tough economic times are the Government's fault, whether they literally are or not. This time they literally are. Not all of it, but a big enough chunk for fingers to be pointed. Read ANZ's economic update. It's a cold winter coming, the hangover from the debt-fuelled party is going to be long and painful, and someone is going to pay for it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's podcast:We ask whether you think democracy is under threat. Are Three Waters and He Puapua compatible with democracy? We don't think so. But how much do you care?Muriel Newman takes a dive into the subject with us.We have commentary on education and Marxism, and sex versus progressive gender.And, of course, your missives in the Mailroom.File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nzHaven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide.Listen here on iHeartRadioLeighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here

On this week's podcast:We ask whether you think democracy is under threat. Are Three Waters and He Puapua compatible with democracy? We don't think so. But how much do you care?Muriel Newman takes a dive into the subject with us.We have commentary on education and Marxism, and sex versus progressive gender.And, of course, your missives in the Mailroom.File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nzHaven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide.Listen here on iHeartRadioLeighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here

Since its release He Puapua has been hitting headlines across the motu. He Puapua is a report which considers how our laws and policies in Aotearoa New Zealand can be adapted to become consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). In this episode Dr. Claire Charters, Prof. Jacinta Ruru, who are both co-writers of He Puapua, and Max Harris share their whakaaro about the report, what it is, where it has come from, and importantly, what it isn't. Read the redacted version of He Puapua here: https://www.tpk.govt.nz/docs/undrip/tpk-undrip-he-puapua.pdf Te Takarangi Celebrating Māori Publications: https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/150th-anniversary/tetakarangi/ Read Our Words: An anti-racist reading list for New Zealanders by Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla & Jeanette Wikaira: https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/15-06-2020/read-our-words-an-anti-racist-reading-list-for-new-zealanders/

Large blue billboards bearing the face of National Party leader Judith Collins and the message: "He Puapua? Demand the Debate" have sprung up around the country. This is a reference to the contentious He Puapua report, which looks at how the Government can achieve the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It describes a New Zealand in 2040 with separate Maori health and justice systems, RMA rules, and electoral arrangements. Judith Collins has repeatedly said the report shows the Government is trying to implement "separatism by stealth". She spoke to Corin Dann.

Large blue billboards bearing the face of National Party leader Judith Collins and the message: "He Puapua? Demand the Debate" have sprung up around the country. This is a reference to the contentious He Puapua report, which looks at how the Government can achieve the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It describes a New Zealand in 2040 with separate Maori health and justice systems, RMA rules, and electoral arrangements. Judith Collins has repeatedly said the report shows the Government is trying to implement "separatism by stealth". She spoke to Corin Dann.

The National Party's leader has high hopes about her "demand the debate" campaign. National has launched an electronic billboard drive, with the first highlighting the controversial He Puapua report.Former Minister Peter Dunne told The Weekend Collective that there is fertile ground National can tap into over these problems, such as hate speech.However, National has to be cautious about how it handles the debate. "It doesn't become tinged with things like the race debate or other things that make it look like some form of naked populism."He says the one thing that gives him doubt is that their approach to He Puapua is "populist racism" and a "cheap shot", which doesn't inspire optimism. LISTEN ABOVE 

The National Party's leader has high hopes about her "demand the debate" campaign. National has launched an electronic billboard drive, with the first highlighting the controversial He Puapua report.Former Minister Peter Dunne told The Weekend Collective that there is fertile ground National can tap into over these problems, such as hate speech.However, National has to be cautious about how it handles the debate. "It doesn't become tinged with things like the race debate or other things that make it look like some form of naked populism."He says the one thing that gives him doubt is that their approach to He Puapua is "populist racism" and a "cheap shot", which doesn't inspire optimism. LISTEN ABOVE 

Opposition parties have come out strongly against the He Puapua report that makes recommendations for co-governance between the Crown and Māori.Bridges told TVNZ's Q+A the party was not walking back on the previous National-led government's decision to sign up to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Undrip), on which the controversial report He Puapua was based, but was "concerned" about the Government's signalled implementation.It comes after Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson this week outlined the next steps for the country to realise its international obligations to indigenous peoples under the Declaration.Jackson said the Government was not ruling anything out ahead of consultation, first with Māori followed by the general population, sparking further speculation constitutional changes suggested in He Puapua could be on the table.Act leader David Seymour has called on Parliament to renounce the Declaration completely, meanwhile Te Paati Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi says He Puapua does not go far enough and calls for a completely independent Māori Parliament.Jackson said a plan to enact the Declaration would be in place by the end of next year, preceded by consultation first with Māori then the general population about what it should include.It comes after a heated few months in Parliament after opposition parties leaked Government-commissioned document He Puapua, produced in 2019 to advise how New Zealand could realise its commitments under the Declaration.He Puapua included a roadmap to 2040 by which time it envisages various co-governance and Māori-run arrangements, such as a separate Upper House of Parliament for Māori, to address the huge inequities currently facing Māori.During the announcement Jackson took pains to state He Puapua was "not the plan".But while the Government had made clear its dislike of some aspects, such as a separate Upper House of Parliament, they were not ruling anything out."It is about the opportunity to have a kōrero," Jackson said.The Declaration was not binding and any policies that came out of it would need to be consistent with New Zealand's current laws, he said.Simon Bridges, National's Māori-Crown spokesman, told Q+A broadcaster Jack Tame that Jackson's comments National should be supportive given it had signed New Zealand up to the Declaration was a "fig leaf of an excuse"."Any government has complete discretion on how to implement it," Bridges said.The party was concerned the Government was heading towards "50/50" arrangements between Māori and the Crown, something that was "inconsistent with a multicultural, modern liberal democracy," he said.Rather, Bridges said targeted instead of "top down" approaches were needed to address the inequities facing Māori.He said he accepted He Puapua was not Government policy, but believed it was still driving some of the ministers in Government."There is something a bit religious about this. A sense that 'if we haven't said Aotearoa 18 times by lunchtime, if we haven't referenced the Treaty and tried to do some things in that area, we'll have to go home in the evening and say a few Hail Marys'."Seymour said Parliament never voted for New Zealand to sign up to the Declaration, beyond a Ministerial Statement that Act spoke against in 2010."Act is calling on all parties in Parliament to renounce the Declaration that Government Ministers signed up to without full democratic consent."Either New Zealand is to be a liberal democracy where all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, or a kind of ethno-state where some are born more equal than others."Waititi told Newshub's The Nation the current Parliamentary system was not working for Māori."Our people have tried to manipulate and work in the system for a long, long time. But I think it's time for us to start looking at some new systems where it's more equitable and more equal for indigenous people."We want to be in...

Opposition parties have come out strongly against the He Puapua report that makes recommendations for co-governance between the Crown and Māori.Bridges told TVNZ's Q+A the party was not walking back on the previous National-led government's decision to sign up to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Undrip), on which the controversial report He Puapua was based, but was "concerned" about the Government's signalled implementation.It comes after Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson this week outlined the next steps for the country to realise its international obligations to indigenous peoples under the Declaration.Jackson said the Government was not ruling anything out ahead of consultation, first with Māori followed by the general population, sparking further speculation constitutional changes suggested in He Puapua could be on the table.Act leader David Seymour has called on Parliament to renounce the Declaration completely, meanwhile Te Paati Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi says He Puapua does not go far enough and calls for a completely independent Māori Parliament.Jackson said a plan to enact the Declaration would be in place by the end of next year, preceded by consultation first with Māori then the general population about what it should include.It comes after a heated few months in Parliament after opposition parties leaked Government-commissioned document He Puapua, produced in 2019 to advise how New Zealand could realise its commitments under the Declaration.He Puapua included a roadmap to 2040 by which time it envisages various co-governance and Māori-run arrangements, such as a separate Upper House of Parliament for Māori, to address the huge inequities currently facing Māori.During the announcement Jackson took pains to state He Puapua was "not the plan".But while the Government had made clear its dislike of some aspects, such as a separate Upper House of Parliament, they were not ruling anything out."It is about the opportunity to have a kōrero," Jackson said.The Declaration was not binding and any policies that came out of it would need to be consistent with New Zealand's current laws, he said.Simon Bridges, National's Māori-Crown spokesman, told Q+A broadcaster Jack Tame that Jackson's comments National should be supportive given it had signed New Zealand up to the Declaration was a "fig leaf of an excuse"."Any government has complete discretion on how to implement it," Bridges said.The party was concerned the Government was heading towards "50/50" arrangements between Māori and the Crown, something that was "inconsistent with a multicultural, modern liberal democracy," he said.Rather, Bridges said targeted instead of "top down" approaches were needed to address the inequities facing Māori.He said he accepted He Puapua was not Government policy, but believed it was still driving some of the ministers in Government."There is something a bit religious about this. A sense that 'if we haven't said Aotearoa 18 times by lunchtime, if we haven't referenced the Treaty and tried to do some things in that area, we'll have to go home in the evening and say a few Hail Marys'."Seymour said Parliament never voted for New Zealand to sign up to the Declaration, beyond a Ministerial Statement that Act spoke against in 2010."Act is calling on all parties in Parliament to renounce the Declaration that Government Ministers signed up to without full democratic consent."Either New Zealand is to be a liberal democracy where all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, or a kind of ethno-state where some are born more equal than others."Waititi told Newshub's The Nation the current Parliamentary system was not working for Māori."Our people have tried to manipulate and work in the system for a long, long time. But I think it's time for us to start looking at some new systems where it's more equitable and more equal for indigenous people."We want to be in...

The Government has unveiled proposals to move the ownership and management of water infrastructure from local councils and into the hands of four water services agencies, split regionally.Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta released the long-signalled "Three Waters" decisions this week. saying the move on drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure would save ratepayers money.It would also result in better, safer services, and help ensure that the expected $120 billion to $185b in investment over the next 30 years could be made.Meanwhile, Māori self-determination will be "something that brings us together as a country", Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson said as he unveiled the next steps for Aotearoa to realise its international obligations to indigenous peoples.Speaking at his marae in Tāmaki Makaurau, Ngā Whare Waatea, Jackson announced by the end of 2022 the Government would have signed off on a plan to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Undrip) - the first in the world to have done so.It comes after a heated few months in Parliament after opposition parties leaked Government-commissioned document He Puapua, produced in 2019 to advise how New Zealand could realise its commitments under the Declaration.It included a roadmap to 2040 by which time it envisages various co-governance and Māori-run arrangements to address the huge inequities currently facing Māori.And there was some levity in Parliament, as a hate speech debate saw Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern suggest the country's opposition leader was a "Karen."The insult, popularized last year by an internet meme, broadly refers to an entitled White woman who is unafraid to use her privilege to make unreasonable demands.Parliament had been debating New Zealand's hate speech laws, with Ardern's government proposing harsher penalties for inciting discrimination and violence. The proposal comes in response to the deadly 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks. A Royal Commission inquiry afterward concluded the law did not adequately deal with hate speech and hate crime, and recommended stronger measures.But the proposed changes have been sharply criticized by opposition parties, who argue it would infringe on freedom of speech and that existing laws are sufficient."Will calling a middle-aged white woman a 'Karen' now be a crime under Jacinda Ardern's law?" tweeted Judith Collins, opposition leader and head of the center-right National Party, on Tuesday.Collins reiterated her opposition to the law in parliament Wednesday, arguing it would "shut down debate on hate speech.""I disagree with that statement," Ardern replied. "I also, as it happens, disagree with (Collins') statement on Twitter, that somehow it will become illegal to call someone a 'Karen.' That is absolutely incorrect, and I apologize, that means these laws will not protect that member from such a claim."The statement was met with laughter and scattered applause from other members of parliament, and a tight-lipped smile from Collins.LISTEN ABOVEtext by NZ Herald and CNN

Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi on what the power sharing proposed by He Puapua should actually look like. And COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins on whether the Pfizer roll is more of a fizzer. National has vowed to repeal the govt's proposed hate speech laws should they get back into power, Justice Spokesperson Simon Bridges explains why. Mark Mitchell has been stabbed, shot at and that was before he reached the rough and tumble of Parliament. He joined Newshub Nation to share his Backstory.  And to dissect the news of the week on our political panel: Former National Government Minister Chris Finlayson, Professor Tracey McIntosh and Māori TV political reporter Rukuwai Tipene-Allen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Māori self-determination will be "something that brings us together as a country", Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson says as he unveils the next steps for Aotearoa to realise its international obligations to indigenous peoples.Speaking at his marae in Tāmaki Makaurau, Ngā Whare Waatea, Jackson announced by the end of 2022 the Government would have signed off on a plan to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Undrip) - the first in the world to have done so.It comes after a heated few months in Parliament after opposition parties leaked Government-commissioned document He Puapua, produced in 2019 to advise how New Zealand could realise its commitments under the Declaration.It included a roadmap to 2040 by which time it envisages various co-governance and Māori-run arrangements to address the huge inequities currently facing Māori.These include a separate Māori Parliament or upper house, health and justice systems, further return of Māori assets including foreshore and seabed, and recognition of cultural rights and equity.It was not Government policy, but National and Act labelled its Māori-focused initiatives as "separatist" and accused the Government of a hidden agenda.Jackson said this was not the case, rather the report was "a collection of ideas, suggestions aspirations and hopes for Maori – something to add to our discussions".New Zealand signed up to the Declaration in 2010 through then-Māori Affairs Minister and Māori Party co-leader Pita Sharples, under a National-led government.Jackson said today's announcement was continuing that cross-partisan work."It's appropriate we're at my marae, a cultural focal point for South Auckland Māori, to discuss a Declaration plan."For over 30 years Ngā Whare Waatea Marae has been a place for the local community to come together to plan for the future."He spoke of the kura, radio station, Whanau Ora, Youth programmes, domestic violence programmes, restorative justice, Marae justice, food bank - all on the marae grounds "where we exercise self-determination", Jackson said."However I know for many people who have never been to a marae like this, who may not be Māori – coming here can be scary."But I can assure you – once you walk through the gates you will be welcomed, you become part of what we have here and you will see, like many visitors before you, see that we have so much in common and share a belief in making Aotearoa the best country for all our children and our whanau to belong to."Like Ngā Whare Waatea, the Declaration can be a bit scary when you first look through its gates."But once we talk about it together, wananga, and even argue back and forth about it – it will become a place where talking about self-determination is welcomed, a place where we can share our aspirations and debate our future."It will be something that brings us together as a country."The Declaration was never meant to divide us. It is not a tool for separatism. It is not something to be afraid of. "Cabinet had signed off a two-step process, beginning with targeted engagement over the next few months with key iwi and significant Māori organisations on how they wish to be involved.This will be followed by wide public consultation with New Zealanders on a draft Declaration plan, with consultation next year with the aim to have it signed off at the end of 2022."The time is right to develop a plan that measures our progress in advocating for Māori in real and meaningful ways," Jackson said."This must reflect New Zealand and it's an important conversation for us to all have together as a nation.New Zealand is one of 148 countries that support the Declaration. Canada recently backed the Declaration with legislation and will have a plan in place within two years.Globally there is increased momentum to improve outcomes for indigenous peoples in areas such as health, education, and housing, Jackson said."This Government is focused on imp...

There's a brilliant piece online today by Auckland University Professor Elizabeth Rata talking about He Puapua, the government discussion document on separate Maori systems. She argues we are at a crossroads as a country: we either decide to be a democratic-nationalist one, where there is only one category of people which is citizenship and everyone is entitled to the same treatment, or we decide to become an ethno-nationalist country, where we are divided into ethnic groups, and those who got here first claim “a particular political status with entitlements not available to others”.She says if we go ahead with the kind of thinking in He Puapua, that there should be separate courts, a separate chamber of parliament, a separate health authority for Māori, and we end up moving towards the latter, where ethnicity is politicised.As I say, she says we're at a cross roads. She's wrong, I think. We're way past that. This is the new normal. Arguing against it is unusual and brave because we are that far down that track.  On Thursday Willie Jackson, the Minster for Māori Development, gave a speech where he announced the next steps on He Puapua, which is to come up with a strategy. ACT then revealed that government agencies now need to make sure that at least five percent of their contracts are given to Māori businesses.James Shaw is back in the news again for his comment a few weeks ago blaming ‘a group of Pākehā farmers from down south' for giving him troubles with his land plans. He could've just said farmers, because that is the common feature of the group that is motivating their actions, but he threw Pākehā in because he was talking to a Māori radio station.It's hard to come to any conclusion other than that he was deliberately using ethnicity as a tool of division. He was using it like a slur. Grainne Moss got pushed out of her job running Oranga Tamariki amidst calls for her replacement to be Māori. She was the wrong colour for the job in the end.  I hate the fact that we are doing this to ourselves. That we're making colour a thing when we are better than that and should be moving in the opposite direction.  But I think it might be too late. I suspect we're already well down the path towards believing that one ethnic group should receive greater entitlements than any other, and I don't think any major political party has the courage to turn that around. 

Willie Jackson is strongly distancing the Government from the controversial He Puapua report.The Maori Development Minister was at pains to make that point in his speech this afternoon.Jackson says He Puapua – commissioned by the Government to look into Maori co-governance initiatives – simply shows areas of aspiration for Maori.He says it's not Government policy and the report will not be advanced any further.However, Jackson is not ruling out adopting parts of He Puapua.Listen above as Hayden Munro and Nick Mills discuss this and the rest of the day's news with Heather du Plessis-Allan above

I'm not one to blow my own trumpet, but sometimes someone has to step up to plate and so I am.Exactly one week ago, the last time I was on Newstalk ZB, I predicted a boring budget with the only big item, an increase in benefits.Other than that I said that it would be business as usual.And that's exactly what transpired. A boring Labour lite budget for beneficiaries sprinkled with a little honey for rail.As an aside, considering its desire to be perceived as the wellness Government there was a pathetic increase to the Pharmac budget.After four years on the Treasury benches, the transformative Government has transformed nothing at all. With the exception of a new tax rate for the wealthy that will raise half a billion and a regional road tax that raises a couple of hundred million there has been little or no change to the macro settings that have been in place for over a decade now.The most galling for me was the 1.9 billion promised to mental health in the first Wellbeing budget which 2 years later remains unspent while all along the nation's mental health statistics worsen exponentially.Nothing is really going down at all with this lot other than managing day-to-day crises wrought by nature.So it amazes me when so many seemingly rational opponents of the Government start imagining all sorts of backroom doomsday scenarios where this Government is secretly plotting to completely overhaul this country's constitutional arrangements without any heed to the democratic process.It seems rich to hear the opposition claiming that this Government is useless and then claiming they are capable of the greatest constitutional revolution since the signing of the Treaty itself. All in secret. Come on.The hysteria over the He Puapua report is very disappointing and confusing. It is nothing more than the musings of half a dozen people who were asked to look at ways we could comply with the UN's Declaration of Indigenous People's Rights which, by the way, the National-led Government signed us up to in 2010. Maybe Judith forgot that.When presented to the Government it was promptly ignored. There were other things on. Like a pandemic. And many of the ideas are preposterous and politically impossible to get through like a separate Maori House of Parliament.Some of the ideas like a Maori Health Authority were canvased and might come to pass. I'm not a fan because medicine is a science and not beholden to culture.But Judith seems to have forgotten that it was National that instituted Te Wananga O Aotearoa, which now has 80 campuses through New Zealand. A Maori-led tertiary organisation grounded in Maori values. They also promoted charter schools for Maori. Yet no one screamed separatism at Sir John Key.He Pua pua needs to be debated. That's why we asked some big brains to have a think about it in the first place. But it's nothing more than a think piece and to imagine it might be secretly enacted is to be completely ignorant of the processes of democracy in this country.Is it constitutional revolution by stealth? Stop reading fantasy novels.Was Judith wrong to bring it to light? No. But she was wrong to create racially-based panic on such a flimsy pretext.We have become far too open to conspiracy theories and fake news and imaginary scenarios.If you don't believe me read Sir John Key's weekend interview about vax deniers. When the great Common Sense politician of our time starts seeing his fellow New Zealanders losing their rag over nothing you might start thinking we're in trouble.

This is no longer a debate, is it? National's race-based campaign isn't working.  Not only is it not giving national a bump in the polls - the party's still sitting at 27 percent in the latest Newshub-Reid Research poll – but it actually seems to be repelling voters. Asked if National is being divisive, 44.5 percent said yes. Only 23.5 percent said no. The question then is, why isn't it working? To be honest, there are bunch of reasons.Claims of a secret agenda are too conspiratorial. Explaining Māori co-governance is too complicated. People aren't as freaked out by the concept of Māori co-governance nowadays as they used to be. People don't feel like anything is being taken off them through co-governance.And importantly, people feel good. House prices are up, jobs are secure, we're still basking in the afterglow of cruising through Covid a lot better than other countries.  We're just too happy to care. But, there's another factor that is crucial, and that is the Judith Collins factor.When Judith tells voters that Labour has a secret agenda, she is asking them to believe her.She is essentially playing a trust game: ‘who do you trust more, Judith or Jacinda?' And the answer for most voters will be that if they're forced to choose, they choose the Prime Minister. Because, unfortunately, Judith has damaged her brand so badly during the last election and since, that she has lost too much credibility. In fact, because Judith has a history of playing dirty, has a brand tinged with ‘nastiness' (I know this is brutal, so I'm sorry) and because this is so obviously a desperate political play, her involvement makes this whole race-campaign feel gross. Almost as if you would listen, if it was someone else doing the talking. Now, I'm not saying National is wrong to ask the questions it's asking over He Puapua and Labour's plans for Māori co-governance. I think Labour's refusal to reject the entire report does raise some suspicions. I also think Labour has shown that it does spring things on the public: case in point is the Māori wards which they presumably deliberately didn't tell us about during the election campaign. So I think there is a real issue here, and I think there is a latent concern or confusion out there about this, and I think it be a slow burner that could be tapped for votes by a political party maybe in the future, and maybe that's National.But it's not Judith Collins.   

A look at what's in the aspirational He Puapua document, currently being used to stir racial disharmony. 

Top-rating talk host Mike Hosking apologised recently after he slammed political reporters for missing a big story  - and a colleague publicly pointed out he was wrong.  It didn't stop Mike Hosking hitting out again this week  - but being wrong, again.

Top-rating talk host Mike Hosking apologised recently after he slammed political reporters for missing a big story  - and a colleague publicly pointed out he was wrong.  It didn’t stop Mike Hosking hitting out again this week  - but being wrong, again.

After a big week for pay, Annabelle, Ben and Toby discuss the public sector pay freeze-not-freeze and the less heralded but bigger deal that is the fair pay agreement. They're joined, too, by "the masked podder", who may or may not be Mihingarangi Forbes, to discuss the He Puapua report and Judith Collins' "segregation" claims.Gone By Lunchtime couldn’t be made without the support of The Spinoff Members. Find out how to join at members.thespinoff.co.nz See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Politicians - end the race debate, get on with your jobs - that short sharp message from the chair of the National Māori Authority. In the latest political gnarl up, Te Paati Māori MP Rawiri Waititi was booted out of the House after expressing offence at what he called "racist propoganda and rhetoric towards tangata whenua" by the National Party over the past fortnight. At the time Judith Collins was grilling the PM about He Puapua - a report into how to uphold indigenous rights. The National Māori Authority is made up of individuals, iwi Māori businesses and academics. Its chair is Matthew Tukaki. He talks to Lisa Owen.

Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi has been kicked out of the House for doing a haka in protest of questions by the Opposition about race-based policy. National leader Judith Collins was asking Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern about her views of the He Puapua report, which provides recommendations to the government about how it can give effect to Māori self-sovereignty. Waititi called on the Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard to intervene on what he called racist propaganda against Māori in the House.

Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions? BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? DAVID SEYMOUR to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements and actions? Dr ANAE NERU LEAVASA to the Minister of Housing: What progress, if any, has been made on accelerating the build of public housing? ANDREW BAYLY to the Deputy Prime Minister: Which critical initiatives will the implementation unit that he will lead be tasked with monitoring, and why is it only being established more than 42 months after this Government was formed? GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for the Public Service: What pay and employment relations expectations has the Government set out for the public sector? Hon TODD McCLAY to the Minister for Māori Development: What influence, if any, did the He Puapua report have on the contents of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Next Steps for a Declaration Plan – lodging Cabinet paper and draft talking points briefing paper that he received last month? RICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): What is the Government looking for when it says it will “continue to monitor the rental market closely”, and what would that monitoring have to show to convince the Government to develop new rules to ensure reasonable rents? GLEN BENNETT to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What recent reports, if any, has she seen about people entering into employment, education, or training? Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: When will the Government start publicly reporting on the number of jobs created from all its employment initiatives to support the 196,806 recipients of jobseeker support into paid employment? Dr TRACEY McLELLAN to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made about the Government's response to the Health and Disability System Review? RAWIRI WAITITI to the Minister for Māori Development: Does he believe that his statement that “in every area of New Zealand society, we have institutional racism” includes the Government and Government departments; if not, why not?

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has ruled out the idea of a Māori parliament but sidestepped other questions about a report on Māori self-determination, instead accusing the Opposition leader of politicking.National Party leader Judith Collins said on Saturday the Government was seeking to create "two systems by stealth", with separate systems for Māori, by enacting recommendations in the report He Puapua without public consultation.The report was produced by a working group in 2019, tasked by the Government to recommend how New Zealand could realise its commitments under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.It draws together multiple documents and reports on Māori rangatiratanga, or self-determination, and includes a roadmap to 2040 by which time various co-governance and Māori-run arrangements could be in place including a separate court and health system to address the huge inequities currently facing Māori.Monday's post-Cabinet press conference was the first opportunity to question Ardern since Collins' claims on the report.Despite then Minister for Māori Development Nanaia Mahuta receiving the report in November 2019, it had not been discussed yet at Cabinet level, Ardern said.She reiterated she would rule out some recommendations in the report, including establishing a separate Māori parliament, but declined to comment further on "individual elements that have not even been before Cabinet"."The report put forward has been received by the Minister but has not gone before Cabinet and does not necessarily represent the views of Cabinet."She said the way National had latched on to the report, labelling it "separatist" and "segregationist", was "really disappointing" and "nothing more than pure politics"."The very issue the leader is trying to attract attention to is a Declaration she, her Cabinet, signed up to, and now is trying to politicise for nothing more than pure politics."I think New Zealand is at a point in politics where we have moved beyond this."We don't see these discussions when National is in Government, only when they are at a certain point in Opposition."She noted the report was in response to a UN declaration that New Zealand signed up to under a National-led government."The very thing being attacked was something a past National Government signed up to."She said the Government, after signing up to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, was obliged to take further steps towards implementation.The next step was engaging the public on what implementation means for New Zealand."We'll undertake that process - and very openly."On National's concerns around the proposed Māori Health Authority and its ability to veto decisions around general health decisions, Ardern said it was more about making sure the Māori voice was heard on issues of concern."If we are to see a step-change in health, we need to make sure it works for every New Zealander."Following Ardern's comments, Collins issued a statement again calling for the Government to be more upfront on its views about He Puapua."Jacinda Ardern can't skirt the issue of where she stands on these issues by claiming the report hasn't found its way to the Cabinet table," Collins said."The recommendations in He Puapua could dramatically reshape how democracy looks in this country under an approach of having one system for Māori and another system for everyone else across multiple layers of government."The Prime Minister should not be afraid of telling New Zealanders where she stands on the report. They deserve to know what her Government will do with it."Collins said it was right to acknowledge and address the wrongs of the past, but not division along racial lines around core services and things like the foreshore and seabed."We are better off addressing the flaws within the current systems that aren't working for Māori. Ethnicity should not divide us. We are better together."University of Aucklan...

Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson has prepared a draft Cabinet paper outlining a possible government response to the He Puapua report. This report, handed to then Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta in 2019, suggests the establishment of a separate Māori parliament or upper house and a separate court. The government has never released the full report publicly and, because it's never been to Cabinet, it hasn't agreed a position on it. Jackson spoke to Susie Ferguson.  

Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson has prepared a draft Cabinet paper outlining a possible government response to the He Puapua report. This report, handed to then Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta in 2019, suggests the establishment of a separate Māori parliament or upper house and a separate court. The government has never released the full report publicly and, because it's never been to Cabinet, it hasn't agreed a position on it. Jackson spoke to Susie Ferguson.  

The Prime Minister says the government has nothing to hide over a report commissioned on how to better uphold indigenous rights. The Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson has prepared a draft paper setting out the next steps the government could take in response to the He Puapua report, which he says will go to Cabinet soon. However, ACT and National are crying foul, saying the government has been trying to keep the report and any proposals under the radar. Here's political reporter Charlie Dreaver.

On Judith Collins' so called race baiting speech at the weekend: I think it is fair to say that this speech smacks of desperation. I'll explain why I think that, but can I just say at the outset that this is a legitimate subject to raise.If you haven't caught up on the speech, on Saturday Collins basically accused the government of possibly introducing “two systems” based on race by stealth.She referred to a document called He Puapua, which has been sitting with the government since 2019.And the documents outlines what the government needs to do in order to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by 2040.He Puapua makes a number of recommendations, including Māori wards on councils, making New Zealand history compulsory in schools, and setting up a Māori health authority – all done.  It also recommends a separate Māori parliament, and a separate Māori justice system based on Tikanga Māori.I think it's entirely plausible that Labour might well consider implementing more of these recommendations given the size of the Māori caucus and the pressure it'll be putting on the PM, and the fact that they've already introduced one of these recommendations without any warning ahead of the election, and that's the Māori wards on councils.But, as legit a subject as this is, and as much as the Prime Minister does need to face questions on this, this just feels like desperation from Collins.It feels like they rushed this speech or wrote it at the last minute, because there was no heads up to media that this was coming so there no political editors at the conference.  It was on a Saturday. It came out of the blue entirely.And, given the subject matter, it was always going to be compared to the Orewa speech which propelled Don Brash up the polls.There are strategies for how to get a topic like this up and running in the media, and this was not one of them.On the contrary it feels like Collins is clutching at anything to get her polling up and keep any leadership challenges at bay.So while I think she raises some good points that need answering, the overwhelming sense of desperation around the speech might drown that out. It might be that we end up talking about that, not the substance of it.