Fifty things I learned from nearly 80 hours of submissions on the Treaty principles bill
The Spinoff Daily, Friday March 7
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“As the Treaty principles bill hearings drew to a close, there was one remark repeated by myriad submitters: that the Justice Committee should feel privileged to have heard these hours and hours of oral submissions – for the cultural insights into te ao Māori gained, for the breadth of our nation’s history learned, for the evidence of how such a controversial piece of legislation can affect us at an emotional, physical, spiritual and social level, even if it is destined to never pass.
It’s true: as someone who sat through most hearing days, that amount of cultural and historical knowledge gained far surpasses anything I learned from years of social studies classes at school – in hindsight, my understanding of the Treaty was just a drop in the ocean to what is the full picture. And with 542 submitters heard, you also gain a lot of insight into our communities, and who we are as New Zealanders. It also doesn’t hurt to gain a deeper understanding of the process of how a bill passes into law.
So, from demystified misconceptions to the select committee procedures to general observations, here’s (almost) everything I learned from the many hours spent at these hearings.”
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