Describing the proposed Bill as "radical", former National Party minister Chris Finlayson and political commentator Matthew Hooten say the bills should not have the National-led Government's support.

Former  National Party attorney general and minister for Treaty negotiations under Sir John Key's leadership, Finlayson is firmly opposed to a referendum about the Treaty.

The ACT Party's Treaty referendum would "derail years of good faith bargaining and empower weirdos" he says.

"It will bring out of the woodwork the sort of people who used to write to me and say ‘why don't you get cancer?', ‘how dare you give property rights to people above their station' or, as sometimes even happens now, walking along Lambton Quay, someone will call me a ‘Maori-loving c***'."

Respected political commentator Matthew Hooton, who has ties to both ACT and National, agrees with Finlayson's concerns.

"The principles of the Treaty were put into legislation to the disadvantage of Maori because the risk was that if the Maori text was taken as authoritative, then the Crown would not be sovereign.

"You do not want to put the words ‘tino rangatiratanga' into statute" he says.

Catholic religious orders are concerned

Some members of the Catholic Church's Congregational Leaders Conference of Aotearoa New Zealand [CLCANZ] are also concerned.

The group, representing Catholic religious orders, is troubled by the current political discourse regarding the Coalition Government's policies about Maori language and the Treaty.

CLCANZ has issued a public statement saying:

"Te Tiriti o Waitangi was the foundational document of Aotearoa, with Bishop Pompallier present at the gathering.

"It had the flavour of a covenant, a sacred agreement.

"It was between the British Colonial Office then, and the Government today, and Maori.

"Any ongoing conversations today should involve members from both parties.

The religious leaders are alarmed by the rhetoric surrounding curbing Maori language and attempting to rewrite the principles of the Treaty and say it is not time to remain silent.

"This current coalition government appears to be continuing a litany of broken promises to Maori, the indigenous peoples of our country.

"We stand in protest at the attitude of the present coalition government in disestablishing the bicultural relationship between Maori and the Crown, and destroying many efforts made over significant years.

"We commit ourselves to learning more about our responsibilities living in a bicultural milieu," say the group of leaders.

The proposed Bill

The five principles the proposed Bill will consider include:

• Kawanatanga - the principle that the Government has the right to govern and make laws
• Rangatiratanga - the right of iwi to control the resources they own
• Equality - all New Zealanders are equal under the law
• Co-operation - there must be co-operation between the Government and iwi on big issues of common concern
• Redress - that the Government acts responsibly to provide a process to resolve Treaty grievances

ACT is committed to replacing and rewriting those principles.

Sources

• NZ Herald
• Otago Daily Times
• For further information CLCANZ statement, please contact the President, Fr Thomas Rouse, on 04 5677216 or by email

Yet that's exactly what's likely to happen.

Justice Minister Kiri Allan says she will be making announcements on hate speech by the end of this year.

"I guarantee that I'll be introducing a law that I intend to have concluded and put into law by the next election."

What the law will entail remains to be seen.

Finlayson has some words of warning about the possibility of such legislation being passed.

"I am not confident the authorities would take a strong stand to prosecute only the most serious and obvious cases. They would probably kick for touch and leave it to the courts to decide."

He suggests the most effective way of rebutting positions you disagree with is to master the arguments of your opponents and engage in a robust and civil debate.

"May the best person win the argument," he says. "It is contrary to fundamental principles of freedom of expression and to a liberal democracy to have a law that could stop the full and frank exchange of views."

Bob McCoskrie of Family First is also concerned about the possibility of hate speech legislation being passed.

It's not something to be taken lightly, he indicates.

Rather, he says it's vital that families and faith communities understand what is really at stake with these proposals.

"Make no mistake - political activists and special interest groups will miss the important distinction between hate speech, and merely speech they hate, and end up using such laws as tools of political intimidation to punish opponents and shut down debate in the marketplace of ideas," McCoskrie says.

Freelance blogger and journalist Karl du Fresne is also concerned about the prospect of hate speech legislation. He cites advice from Jacob Mchangama, a Danish lawyer, human rights advocate and author who spoke at the Free Speech Union conference in Auckland last Saturday.

"One of his key points was that historically, free speech has been a vital tool for the oppressed," du Fresne reports.

However, du Fresne says he's disappointed that there were so few journalists at the conference.

One, the editor of a high-profile national publication, was there to observe rather than report, he says.

A freelancer, Yvonne van Dongen, told the conference about the extraordinary obstacles, excuses and deceptions she encountered despite her well-established credentials when she tried to get an article published about the free speech debate.

"No one who heard van Dongen's account of her travails ... could delude themselves that the mainstream media can be regarded as allies in the campaign for free speech," du Fresne says.

This perception was reinforced by the fact that although Jacob Mchangama was interviewed on RNZ by Kim Hill, not a word appeared in the mainstream media about the conference.

Source

• YouTube
• NZ Herald
• NZ Herald
• Blogspot

Murnane became a household name in New Zealand in 2010.

He had been charged with burglary and wilful damage to the Waihopai spy base near Blenheim - charges the High Court acquitted Murnane and two others of in 2011.

The first the 82-year old heard of his alleged involvement in the Blockade Australia demonstration was when two police officers turned up on his doorstep.

"They presented me with an eight-page charge sheet accusing me of being at a protest in Sydney in June this year," he says.

That late-June protest was one of two unauthorised demonstrations. Scores of climate demonstrators converged on Sydney's CBD, chaotically disrupting the morning peak-hour traffic.

If found guilty of causing serious disruption to roads, rail, and ports, he and others could be fined AUD$22,000 and be jailed for two years.

Murnane says he's been accused of blocking access to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and blocking George Street and other streets. He says he's also been accused of "walking about throughout a long protest playing a drum".

The police told him he was seen on CCTV, public media and Facebook live streaming.

"That was quite amazing to me. I was in Melbourne during those days and weeks so it was quite a puzzle to me."

He says he doesn't own or play a drum, either. Nor has he been involved in any Blockade Australia protests.

New South Wales (NSW) Police "deserve to be called to account for this pretty horrendous mistake" he says.

The head of the Dominican church community in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell, Father Mark O'Brien, is defending Murnane's innocence.

"I can confirm that this allegation is quite mistaken or false ... he was at St Dominic's on 27th June and so could not have been in Sydney on the same day," he stated on ABCs 7.30 programme.

Lawyer Mark Davis is acting for a group of Blockade Australia protesters and supporters.

He says he's asked for the Police to drop the charges against Murnane, but they have not responded.

The Police won't comment on the case to media either, as it's before the court.

Source

• ABC

Finlayson says he has vigorously chided church leaders who try to intervene in politics.

On one occasion the Archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal John Dew, invited him to a picnic on Parliament's lawn.

Finlayson says Dew wanted to demonstrate that through the sharing of food collectively we have sufficient resources to ensure all New Zealanders a moderate standard of living.

Appalled, Finlayson declined in writing, saying the picnic was almost as "gimmicky" as the antics of the Anglican leadership.

Quoting a Thatcher Bible favourite, 1 Timothy 5-8 Finlayson says St Paul warns that people who do not provide for their own families were disowning their faith. The former Cabinet Minister's letter also said he deplored Catholic teaching being used "as a cover for extreme left-wing redistributionist views."

He says that former Prime Minister John Key later said he'd had complaints from some bishops that Finlayson had been rude to them.

"I didn't think I'd been rude - rather, I was attempting to tell them how to do their jobs," he says.

Finlayson says it makes him cringe when other politicians discuss their faith publicly.

In fact he advised one new MP, Paulo Garcia, "not to talk about Jesus" in his maiden speech.

"He did.

"It's not New Zealand, is it?

"I just think it jars in this country.

"Often it doesn't seem authentic," he says.

Finlayson says that New Zealand is a secular country and when dealing with matters that impact on religion it's important to find a secular response.

Asked by The Spinoff's Ben Thomas whether it is really possible to ring-fence belief from politics, Finlayson says politicians have to.

"I mean, my view on abortion is that I don't know when life begins and I don't know when life ends because there are these blurry periods.

"I acknowledge that my views, which come from mainstream Catholicism, are in many respects out of place in a secular New Zealand.

"And so I can't go around imposing my views on people.

"This is where I think the United States have got it completely wrong.

"On the one hand, you have people who would be in favour of partial-birth abortions, and then there are those who say nothing from the moment of conception.

"I would have thought sensible people could get together and work out some kind of compromise which would get the damn topic out of the headlines."

A former Cabinet minister's memoir - Yes, Minister - is now out on the shelves.

Subtitled "An insider's account of the John Key years," Finlayson's book makes positive comments about his former boss and nice things about other politicians too - not all of them on the same side of the House.

Sources

• NZ Herald
• The Spinoff

Here is the full apology, which was delivered by the Attorney-General Chris Finlayson.

Mihi
Te maunga tupuna, Taranaki
Tu mai, tu mai ra
Nga uri whakaheke
Koutou nga kaikawe o nga tohutohu
a Tohu Kakahi, a Te Whiti o Rongomai
Karanga mai, mihi mai, whakatau mai.
He ra tino nui tenei mo te Karauna
He ra tino nui tenei mo te Motu
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa.

Introduction

We are at Parihaka today to participate in this historic ceremony which marks the reconciliation between Parihaka and the Crown.

This is a day when we need to look back at the history of the Crown's actions at Parihaka and acknowledge the suffering those actions have caused for generations of people at Parihaka.

This is an important part of reconciliation. But it is also a day when we look forward to a future where the vision of Parihaka is finally achieved.

For the vision of Tohu Kakahi and Te Whiti o Rongomai was not one of protest and resistance. Theirs was a vision of self-determination, cooperation and peace.

In the past the Crown felt threatened by that vision and sought to undermine it. Today the Crown comes to Parihaka to make a contribution to the fulfilment of that vision.

Parihaka has waited a long time for this day.

When I was here a year ago to sign the compact of trust I spoke about the sense of responsibility I feel as Attorney-General for this reconciliation.

The colonial government failed to uphold the rule of law at Parihaka and I am grateful for the opportunity, as the current Attorney-General, to be able to play a part in helping right that past wrong. Continue reading

Source and Image

• E-Tangata

"He was a terrific guy - very smart, so he carried the rest of us in the team. He was very eloquent then, as he is now. We went to primary and secondary school together. He's probably done better than anyone else in the class and full credit. It's well deserved". Continue reading

Wellington City Council covered $800,000 of the floodlit artificial turf's $1.7 million bill. The responsibility for finding the remaining $900,000 to fund the artificial turf has been accepted by the St Patrick's College Foundation.

Some avenues of revenue generation have already been identified. The Marist St Pat's Rugby Club, which will be a prime user of the turf, is committed to a contribution of $300,000. The College's parents' association will provide $50,000.

The College is facing further major expenses; in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes, the school, which was built on reclaimed land, has been assessed by engineers.

The assessment shows there is a need for $8 million worth of seismic work on the land and the buildings.

Last week's opening of the artificial turf was attended by Attorney-General and St Pat's old boy Chris Finlayson, Mayor Celia Wade-Brown and several Wellington City councillors, including John Morrison, the driving force behind the venture, and Paul Eagle who is an old boy of the college.

They were welcomed by a student haka and the formalities ended with Archbishop John Dew blessing the facility.

The artificial turf will be available for use by pupils and local sports teams, including the Marist St Pat's Rugby Club.

St Pat's rector Fr Paul Martin said the field would help students train more often.

"That's our only field, in terms of our own college space. Therefore if the weather was no good, we had nowhere for the kids to train.

"The option of being able to train at night is a huge plus for us."

Source

• The Wellingtonian
• The Cornerstone
• Image: MSP