Lesson 48: There are so many New Zealanders who just want what’s best for each other.

Some interesting parts that caught my eye:

  1. If the hearings are a good indicator of overall submissions, most submitters oppose this bill.
  1. Most of us can generally agree that the principles laid out in the Treaty principles bill do not accurately reflect what was written in the Treaty or te Tiriti, or the likely intention of those signing it.
  1. Just because it’s your bill, doesn’t mean you have to show up – Act Party Justice Committee members were no-shows for most of the subcommittee hearings into the Treaty principles bill.
  1. Being on the conservative side of politics doesn’t necessarily mean this bill will appeal to you, as displayed by submissions in opposition from Chris Finlayson and Dame Jenny Shipley.
  1. Media interest in these things can wane pretty quickly. On the first day of hearings, essentially every media outlet was in Room 3. In the final week, only Whakaata Māori and The Spinoff remained.
  • liv@lemmy.nz
    3·
    23 days ago

    I think this is an important point that needs more coverage:

    Many submitters were more worried about how the Regulatory Standards Bill would impact Treaty obligations than the Treaty principles bill.

    As I understand it, the Treaty bill is a sideshow and the Regulatory Standards Bill is where the actual damage is quietly being done.

    • Dave@lemmy.nzOPM
      2·
      23 days ago

      I don’t know much about the Regulatory Standards Bill. I read the summary but I feel this is a devil in the detail type thing. Is there a good write-up about it?

      • liv@lemmy.nz
        3·
        22 days ago

        Tldr it seeks to enshrine Libertarian principles in how laws are made in NZ, including retrospectively. So it’s a constitutional change.

        Here’s a good article explaining how its focus on protecting wealth and property would make it much harder to have any legislation that promotes social good or benefits the environment.

        And here is a Maori perspective on how it prevents lawmakers from taking Te Tiriti into consideration.

        It’s been around - and rejected - for years, having been first proposed by Roger Douglas. The fact that National agreed to make a worse version of it law is quite weird.

        • Dave@lemmy.nzOPM
          2·
          22 days ago

          Hmm I think I have read that first article in the past. Man I hate the direction we are heading.

          • liv@lemmy.nz
            2·
            21 days ago

            Me too, especially the undemocratic stuff, e.g. this bill’s having David Seymour pick a board of people who property developers etc can complain to about NZ’s existing laws.

        • Dave@lemmy.nzOPM
          1·
          22 days ago

          The first one was paywalled or something (unspecified “you can’t read this” message) but I read through the second one. Do we know to what extent this is in the coalition agreement? Is it pre-determined to become law or is it one of those things where it’s been agreed to get it past the first reading into a select committee?

          • BalpeenHammer@lemmy.nz
            2·
            22 days ago

            That’s weird. The first one works just fine for me.

            The first paragraph on that page says

            “The coalition Government has agreed to pass a Regulatory Standards Bill, proposed by the ACT Party, which will further tilt the political playing field to advantage vested interests.”

            So yea it’s a done deal even though it’s not even though the draft hasn’t been submitted. They used the treaty bill as a distraction to push this one through. Well planned and executed by David Seymour. He knows how to play this game.

      • liv@lemmy.nz
        1·
        22 days ago

        Tldr it seeks to enshrine Libertarian principles in how laws are made in NZ, including retrospectively. So it’s a constitutional change.

        Here’s a good article explaining how its focus on protecting wealth and property would make it much harder to have any legislation that promotes social good or benefits the environment.