5th August 2025: Webinar: Kia Tangi Tonu Tātou: The Call for Constitutional Transformation in Aotearoa
For the 2024 NZCCL VUW Law Essay Prize we also awarded a special prize to India Bulman for her fascinating essay Kia Tangi Tonu Tātou: The Call for Constitutional Transformation in Aotearoa. India has agreed to present her findings to us in a webinar.
A fascinating and well-researched essay from which I learnt that s71 of the Constitution Act of 1852 allowed for the creation of Maori legal districts where Maori law would prevail, although no such districts were established until the law was repealed in 1986. The paper gives us an intriguing view of another possible Aotearoa New Zealand, one where perhaps two peoples did a better job of sharing both the land and the authority over it. – Thomas Beagle, Chair
Webinar details
Date: Tuesday 5th August
Time: 1pm – 2pm
India will talk about her essay and there will be time for questions at the end.
Zoom registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7p5hTv0dTRmexxdI3DrStg
Privacy: The Zoom registration process asks for your name and email address. We will only use this data for organising the webinar and will delete the information afterwards.
Essay abstract
“This paper argues that a historic and continuous call and response to constitutional transformation in Aotearoa New Zealand can be traced along the themes of s 71 of the Constitution Act 1852. Section 71 allowed the governor of New Zealand to set aside Māori Legal Districts where Māori law would prevail. This section introduced two themes into New Zealand’s constitutional discourse; the Māori right to self-governance within a distinct legal realm, and the state government’s refusal to recognise this Māori right of self-governance. Since 71’s enactment in 1852, both the Māori call for constitutional transformation that recognises the right to self-govern in a separate domain and the state government’s denial of this right have been an illustration of continuity characterised by the themes of s 71.”
“Beginning with a discussion on the history of s 71, this paper contends that the notion of Māori people being governed by Māori law within distinct Māori Legal Districts was endorsed in 1852 by imperial legislators in London. This paper then traces the themes of s 71 in early 19th century Māori movements like the Kīngitanga and Kotahitanga, as well as in later activism during the 1970s and 80s ‘Māori Renaissance’. In looking at the state government’s responses to this activism this paper addresses the repeal of s 71 in 1986, arguing the process followed made the repeal democratically illegitimate. Despite its repeal, this paper contends that the themes of s 71 are entrenched in Aotearoa’s constitutional discourse and continue to be reflected in current calls for constitutional transformation. By tracing a historic Māori call for constitutional transformation along the themes of s 71, it is argued that this call is characterised by continuity rather than change.”