So This Happened On November 14.

So this happened on November 14.

The bill that opposition party MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke tore up before the haka suggests moving interpretation of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi from the courts to Parliament.

It is essential to understand that the courts have often been used to rein in Parliament's misinterpretation with respect to provisions in the Treaty.

The Waitangi Tribunal, set up in 1975 to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, notes the bill "purposefully excluded any consultation with Māori, breaching the principle of partnership, the Crown’s good-faith obligations, and the Crown’s duty to actively protect Māori rights and interests". It also said that the principles of the bill misinterpreted the Treaty of Waitangi and that this "caused significant prejudice to Māori".

Act - a minor party in the ruling centre-right coalition, and the party that introduced this bill - claim that the Treaty has resulted in the country being divided by race. However, there's no suggestion that this measure will improve the fortunes of the 18% of New Zealand's population who are Māori. Many Māori remain disadvantaged compared with the general population on metrics such as health outcomes, household income, education levels and incarceration and mortality rates. There remains a seven-year gap in life expectancy.

The tabling of the Treaty Principles Bill comes following a series of measures introduced by the government that have affected Māori. They include the closure of the Māori Health Authority, which was set up to help create health equity, and reprioritising English over Māori when it comes to the official naming of government organisations, for example.

much better footage of the haka that shut down parliament today

Hey, married women: Go apply for your passport.

The SAVE Act has passed in The House. It makes it illegal for a woman whose last name does not match her birth name to vote as a "citizenship verification measure." The main way around it is being able to present your passport at the polls since that proves your citizenship.

Look up your Senators here and raise hell on their phone lines about this blatant attempt to disenfranchise millions of women:

https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

17K notes View Post

jarich

3 months ago

You won’t see this every day but making sure the system cannot proceed unless women have a seat at the table is the best possibly thing you can do in a place of privilege.

62K notes View Post

jarich

9 months ago

One easy thing you can do to help workers who are being mistreated is to join your union. Even if you don't work for Amazon. If you don't have a union, join efforts to get one, and vote yes. By supporting the unions, you increase the safety for disadvantaged employees to gather and collectively demand better conditions.

If you believe in any kind of mutual support, you should join your union, and do you bit.