I want to unpack what David Seymore said in the quote below.

• There is nothing impractical about referencing the Treaty. Indeed, when messing about with the constitutional framework of Aotearoa I think it behoves one to reference the founding document.

• I find it interesting that ‘spiritual exercise’ is being used to dismiss the critique. It probably reflects on the generally agnostic view of most kiwis. However, it can also be seen to be a dog whistle to those that see Māori as more ‘spiritual’.

• ‘For all New Zealanders’ is another dog whistle. Māori are disadvantaged by almost every measure. We need specific measures to assist Māori. Those measures *do* need to be practical, targeted, and culturally sensitive. Helping Māori will help everyone in Aotearoa.

#nzpol #RegulatoryStandards

“‘This is actually a practical project. It's not a sort of spiritual exercise,’ [David Seymore] said.

“‘If you can find any person that will give me a practical example of how putting the Treaty into the regulatory standards bill would change the outcome in a way that's better for all New Zealanders, then I'm open minded.’”
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/566580/analysis-where-next-for-regulatory-standards-bill

"A couple of months ago, the government held a public "consultation" on their proposed Regulatory Standards Bill.
...
76 supporters out of 23,000. ... Its not even the ACT voter percentage they got for their racist Treaty Principles Bill. And meanwhile, it is crystal clear that the public overwhelmingly opposes this extremist libertarian bullshit.
So guess who the government listened to?"

#NZPol #RegulatoryStandards

https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2025/05/government-of-03.html

Excellent submission by @civillibertynz on #RegulatoryStandards Bill.

Kinda glad I didn't read it before doing mine. It makes many of the same points I make but does it more elegantly! 💐

#NZpol

FYI @v_for_verbosity https://nzccl.org.nz/submission-consultation-on-proposed-regulatory-standards-bill/