National wants to eradicate Māori from the law

One of the major legal changes of the last fifty years has been the increasing recognition of te Tiriti o Waitangi and tikanga in law, both through statute and caselaw. The present white supremacist regime, with their Treaty Principles Bill, Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Act, and plans to repeal Treaty clauses, have made it clear that they want to remove statutory recognition. And now they're going after caselaw as well, threatening legislation to simply overturn decisions they don't like:

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says the judiciary is creating a “bespoke” legal system that’s not internationally transferable and could deter foreign investors.

These comments – made to an audience of lawyers at a Law Association function last week, and first reported by Law News – came with a commitment to create legislation that would essentially overwrite certain judicial decisions where tikanga and te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations are involved.

The Government is already doing exactly this in regards to its Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Amendment Bill, which seeks to tighten the law around Māori claims to customary rights following significant court decisions.

And according to the Law News report, Goldsmith revealed at last Wednesday’s breakfast event that he planned to go further.

Which you'd think would be an even bigger threat to the legal system and deterrant to foreign investors than the "problem" Goldsmith purports to be solving. After all, a government which overturns decisions which benefit Māori could also overturn decisions which benefit foreign investors. But weirdly racists never think they'll be the victim (because white supremacy).

Not that there is actually a problem here to solve at all. A "bespoke" legal system? You mean a country's laws reflecting the society and historical circumstances of that country, rather than a foreign one on the other side of the world? Quelle horreur! And yet people have no problem accepting this when talking about the USA, or France, or Germany, or Canada, or pretty much anywhere else. It is only when they're only talking about Māori that it becomes a problem. And we all know why.

But Māori are the first people of this country, and tikanga is its first law. Under accepted and completely orthodox legal principles, that law remains until extinguished. And it is a matter of historical fact that parts of it have not been extinguished, and therefore effectively remain in force, to influence the rest of the legal system. This may offend the sensibilities of richwhite lawyers from the fancy suburbs of Auckland, but the fact remains. And if they don't understand it, maybe they should adhere to their professional responsibilities and learn, rather than seeking to eliminate it.

(As for Goldsmith's threat, if this gets to the stage of legislation and passes into law, it just goes on the list of things to be immediately repealed under urgency by the next government. We have a revert button too, and we will use it, so if you want "stability", then stop fucking around and let the judges do their job).