Ki te whaiao, ki te ao Mārama One participant noted “the first place to start to make Aotearoa New Zealand racism-free is to fully acknowledge and commit to Te Tiriti o Waitangi’. Another noted the particular importance of recognising the unwritten fourth article of Te Tiriti, which concerned religious freedom: ‘If Te Tiriti was honoured, there would be space for me to express all of who I am and my religion’. Constitutional transformation was widely supported. Some participants specifically cited key reports such as Matike Mai Aotearoa and He Puapua, calling for the implementation of their recommendations regarding constitutional change, to redress the power imbalance between the Tiriti partners. One participant said “hold a conversation about Matike Mai within two years” time. Constitutional transformation speaks to what racism is: an institutional and structural thing. One of the Tangata Tiriti participants expressed their vision for constitutional change in this way: If I were Prime Minister, I’d fully fund and kick off an implementation of the Matike Mai constitutional review … [we need] a Tiriti-based constitutional structure which privileges tino rangatiratanga for Māori, with a constitutional house of Tangata Tiriti, which includes and honours the inherent value and beauty of all New Zealanders. Immigration Ethnic Tangata Tiriti, particularly recent migrants who had first-hand experience of it, found the current immigration process discriminatory and racist. They called for an inquiry into what they experienced as a dehumanising process – an inquiry that should include Tangata Whenua – with a view to overhauling it. A new approach centered in a relationship between Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti throughout the immigration process was seen as a welcome alternative to the present. One participant said: Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Start with an investigation of Immigration New Zealand [INZ] and its parent MBIE [Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment]. INZ’s policies are deeply rooted in racism that no matter the government or laws, they can never treat applicants as human beings. Others identified the need for current immigration policy settings to be reset. This included establishing pathways to residency for so-called ‘low-skilled’ migrants. Some participants called for the Commission to collaborate with government agencies in this work: We encourage the Commission to engage with the Productivity Commission and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on the development of immigration settings that recognise what our immigrants offer Aotearoa in terms of diversity, skills, culture, and talents. Transactional immigration policies which prioritise short-term economic gain are bad for the wellbeing of immigrants and do nothing for New Zealand’s reputation in the world. Related to the centering of Pākehā norms and values identified in the section above, participants noted the different treatment experienced by ethnic migrants compared to white migrants. One commented “white immigrants get it easy, then Asian immigrants have to work to be respected”. Perceptions of ethnic migrants needed to change and their contribution needed to be valued. Another observed: Something needs to happen so that we’re not just regarded as a bunch of people coming over to work for cheap. White immigrants come over and it’s a working holiday, they’re expats, or skilled people that the country needs. Immigration should actually be a way to uplift anyone that comes through, not just white immigrants. 58