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The kāwanatanga sphere would continue to source
its power in its history of Westminster sovereignty, but
it would no longer be the dominating power that is
arrogant in its indivisibility and unchallengeability
(Independent Working Group on Constitutional
Transformation, 2018, p. 112).
For Māori, the rangatiratanga sphere would be:
Exercised as an absolute authority in our sphere of
influence because it has always been absolutely
our power to define, protect and decide what
was in the best interests of our people. As a
taonga handed down from the tīpuna it could
flourish by being sensitive once more to all of
the relationships and tikanga that have shaped
it in this place (Independent Working Group on
Constitutional Transformation, 2018, p. 112).
This would mean that Māori can “make decisions
over our resources and our own lives” (Ngata, 2021)
which would look like “Māori having the freedom to
actually realise our potentials; to develop, and not be
hindered” (Smith, 2021).
Lastly, the joint sphere is an amalgamation of
rangatiratanga and kāwanatanga together, as an
“intersection of Articles 1 and 2, with an overlay of
Article 3” (Charters et al, 2019, p. 11).
In developing a roadmap to realising the UNDRIP,
He Puapua adopts this tricameral model as a basis
for fulfilling this objective. He Puapua is anchored by
Vision 2040, which asserts:
That by 2040 rangatiratanga Māori is realised,
Māori and the Crown enjoy a harmonious and
constructive relationship and work together to
restore and uphold the wellbeing of ngā tangata,
Papatūānuku and the natural environment
(Charters et al, 2019, p. vi).
The report details the path towards Vision 2040,
across the themes of rangatiratanga; participation
in Kāwanatanga Karauna; lands, territories and
resources; culture; and equity (Charters et al, 2019,
pp. iv–v). Constitutional transformation is needed to
achieve this, as at present the kāwanatanga sphere
overwhelmingly dominates the rangatiratanga
sphere, with little joint collaboration. This change
cannot come soon enough:
Human Rights Commission
I urge that we do not wait for 2040, the 200th
anniversary of Te Tiriti [for] constitutional
transformation. There needs to be a rigorous
education and information programme over the
next five years about lawful and human rights
that tangata whenua are entitled to (HalkyardHarawira, 2021).
Decolonisation: reclaiming
power
Constitutional transformation is about reclaiming
the power wrestled from Māori during colonisation.
This is pivotal in decolonising the white supremacist
power structures that continue to underpin society
in Aotearoa (Jackson, 2021a). Citing the renowned
American abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, he
emphasises that of necessity, this entails a challenge
to, and critique of power, “because power still resides
with the Crown” (Jackson, 2021a). As Douglass
professed over 160 years ago, there must be an
insistent demand for change:
If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Power
concedes nothing without a demand. It never
has and it never will. Find out just what a people
will submit to, and you have found out the exact
amount of injustice and wrong which will be
imposed upon them, and these will continue till
they are resisted with either words or blows or
with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed
by the endurance of those whom they oppress
(Douglass, 1857).
This unreserved insistence is important because
“you can’t expect the state to want to dismantle
itself” (Ngata, 2021).
Decolonising colonisation
“Settling colonisation means deconstructing
those lies, that if we did not give our right
away to make decisions, then we have the
right and authority, and I would suggest the
obligation, to talk about how we reclaim it and
make those decisions again” (Jackson, BrownDavis, & Sykes, 2016, p. 5).