Following the 2011 election, part of the Confidence and Supply agreement between the National Party and the Maori Party was the formation of a Constitutional Advisory Panel (CAP). This panel of the good and the great is tasked with examining New Zealand’s constitutional structure, with an emphasis on the Treaty of Waitangi.
 
The panel’s role is to consult the public on a number of constitutional issues, and report to Ministers Bill English and Pita Sharples by the end of the year.
 
Unfortunately, there are some worrying features for people concerned about New Zealand’s long-term governance and protecting private property rights: CAP’s terms of reference, the make-up of the panel, and the consultation process itself.
 
If you haven’t heard of this before, or only have a hazy recall of its existence, do not worry.

The community-at-large are not generally engaged with the process, and there has been little if any sign that the business community are interested – although it should be a concern. For some of those actively involved in the process, the ideal end-point would be entrenching the Treaty of Waitangi in a written constitution.
 
In late 2012, I commissioned two professionally run focus groups to gauge the community’s observations on these matters.
 
The results from this (limited) exercise were clear: there were strong and widely held views that the nation should be going in the other direction – away from Treaty entrenchment.
 
In governance and property rights issues, there was little if any support for constitutionally enshrined biculturalism, or any initiative that could develop or enhance divisiveness.
 
In mentioning this, I am simply seeking to alert readers to an important process which, given its political genesis, could develop an unfortunate direction for New Zealand’s governance. Adequate, sensitive, non-political leadership must emerge and become engaged on the issue.
 
Submissions to the panel closed on 31 July. However, I do encourage readers to take an interest. Constitutional arrangements are important and should not be changed lightly.
 
If anyone would like a copy of my submission, email me at p.shirtcliffe@xtra.co.nz.
 
Peter Shirtcliffe CMG is a member of The New Zealand Initiative. He has held chair and executive positions at a number of large New Zealand companies.