80 S e cti o n T w o – c iv il and politi cal rights New Zealand today Aotearoa i tënei rä A human rights approach to good governance – which five years, this has included the New Zealand Police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Department of Corrections. includes the realisation of democratic rights – empowers There is no co-ordinated programme specifically for local citizens and voters, requires governments to act consist- authorities. Rather, each local authority is responsible ently and in a non-discriminatory way, affirms that for ensuring that its employees understand and apply governments have a legal obligation to observe human relevant human rights standards. rights commitments, and recognises that rights are linked. For example, economic and social rights cannot be achieved when rights to information or free speech are obstructed. 21 Human rights education Although New Zealand’s recognition of democratic rights Civil society also plays a role in promoting human rights. Human Rights in Education (Mana Tika Tangata) is an initiative by Amnesty International, the Children’s Commissioner, the Development Resource Centre, the Peace Foundation and the Human Rights Commission to assist schools and early-childhood centres in under- meets international standards, there is no formal process standing and promoting human rights. Other NGOs offer for educating people about their human rights and the specific programmes for schools, including the Culture of importance of participation. The core principles of the Peace Outreach Programme and the Cool Schools Peer national education curriculum recognise the importance Mediation Programme offered by UNESCO. of the Treaty of Waitangi, cultural diversity and inclusion (as being non-sexist, non-racist and non-discriminatory), Level of democracy and in its values statement encourages students to The democracy of a society can be identified in a “respect themselves, others and human rights”. The New number of ways, including whether there is a legislative Zealand Qualification Authority offers a number of framework guaranteeing citizens’ rights, and the levels of standard units linked to human rights through a variety participation, authorisation, representativeness, account- of tertiary institutions. A number of university courses ability, transparency and responsiveness. also include human rights components. Guaranteed rights The Human Rights Commission provides information on Over the past 20 years there has been debate about and education about human rights. The Commission whether New Zealand should have a written constitution provides a comprehensive website and has a dedicated to guarantee the rights of its citizens and what place the advisor team that provides education on human rights, Treaty of Waitangi should have in such arrangements. 22 delivers workshops on topics such as the human rights dimensions of the Treaty of Waitangi, works with communities to build their capability to address human rights issues locally, and facilitates the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme. The Commission also works with a range of government agencies to integrate a human rights approach into policy and practice. Over the past The BoRA itself is not entrenched legislation. It follows that in theory it could be repealed by Parliament. 23 There is also no formal power for the courts to strike down legislation that breaches New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements, although declarations of inconsistency are possible in some (limited) areas. 24 21 International Council on Human Rights (2005), Local Government and Human Rights: Doing Good Service (Geneva: ICHR), p 4. Accessible online at http://www.ichrp.org/files/reports/11/124_report.pdf 22 See, for example, Roughan N (2005), Te Tiriti and the Constitution: Rethinking Citizenship, Justice, Equality and Democracy, New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law 3(2), November, pp 285–303. 23 This is highly unlikely, given the NZ BoRA’s almost quasi-constitutional status. See discussion in Rishworth P, Huscroft G, Mahoney R and Optican S (2003), The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (Auckland: OUP), pp 3ff 24 Under the HRA (s.92J), a declaration of inconsistency can be obtained in relation to the right to freedom from discrimination. It is also considered that, as section 6 of the NZ BoRA requires a court to prefer statutory meanings that are consistent with the Bill of Rights over those that are not, for all practical purposes the outcome is a declaration of inconsistency. See, for example, R v Hansen [2007] 3 NZLR 1.