The Justice and Electoral Committee has called for submissions on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill. Two copies, by Wednesday, 20 October 2006, to
Justice and Electoral Committee Secretariat
Bowen House
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
Or you can email SC-JE@parliament.govt.nz.
Making a submission is as easy as writing a letter saying "I support/oppose this bill" and giving reasons. The Office of the Clerk has a helpful guide here if you need further help. On a bill of this importance, I'd encourage everyone to have their say.
My thoughts are:
ReplyDelete1. This is a "make it [the Treaty] go away" Bill, which it simply won't do;
2. It cuts through legislation where the Treaty principles are needed to make the statute in question actually make sense;
3. It's a simple solution to the complex issue of principles; an issue that:
4. Is better solved by a proper constitutional forum on the Treaty; and
5. Setting out exactly what the Principles of the Treaty actually are, rather than denying that the founding document of New Zealand has none.