18 December 2007
Pōwhiri and Human Rights: A Contest of Values?
I was recently in Australia working on an address on this issue, which I presented at "Markings: sites of analysis, discipline, interrogation", the 24th Annual Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand conference at the University of Melbourne Law School.
Below is a link to my speaking notes:
> Dean R Knight, "Pōwhiri and Human Rights: A Contest of Values?"
It's not a fully-fledged paper, but it will give you some flavour of my present thinking. I'm presently working on completing a fully referenced paper. And, as usual, feedback is welcomed!
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This is not about primarily about race or indigeneity, it's about religion. A person's race doesn't leads them to discriminate based on sex, but their religion might. The religion beliefs in question are ones that most Maori no longer hold.
You didn't say this explicitly, but I'm assuming you wouldn't permit non-Maori to let their invisible friends dictate how Corrections does its job, especially if those invisible friends want Corrections staff to discriminate based on sex. This in an exception for the religious beliefs of Maori only. If so, it must be based on the Treaty of Waitangi because there is no other legal or moral basis for treating Maori differently than anyone else.
I should confess that some people, especially academics, seem to be able to find things in the Treaty that I've never found even after reading it many times. That said, I think this whole situation is covered by the two articles that you didn't mention, namely articles one and three. Article one provides that the Crown exercises kawanatanga, or government, over New Zealand. This might not include everything our government currently does but surely includes corrections. Article three provides that Maori and non-Maori have the same rights. If religion trumps anti-discrimination when dealing with Maori offenders, it must be the same for non-Maori offenders.
Also, if Maori religion provides the necessary demonstrable justification under art 5 BORA, then why stop at Powhiri? Could we have a rule that only male, Maori judges, lawyers and jury members can be used in cases with a Maori defendant?
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