Matike Mai Aotearoa, the Independent Working Group on Constitutional Transformation, was first promoted at a meeting of the Iwi Chairs’ Forum in 2010. The Terms of Reference given to the Working Group were deliberately broad –
“To develop and implement a model for an inclusive Constitution for Aotearoa based on tikanga and kawa, He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tireni of 1835, TeTiriti o Waitangi of 1840, and other indigenous human rights instruments which enjoy a wide degree of international recognition”.
The Terms of Reference did not ask the Working Group to consider such questions as “How might the Treaty fit within the current Westminster constitutional system” but rather required it to seek advice on a different type of constitutionalism that is based upon He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti. For that reason this Report uses the term “constitutional transformation” rather than “constitutional change”.
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Contents of the report include:
- THE NATURE OF CONSTITUTIONS
- THE CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS
- THE CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES
- THE CONSTITUTIONAL VISION, featuring six indicative Constitutional Models of how New Zealand could facilitate a Treaty-based constitution.
Source: Report of Matike Mai Aotearoa – The Independent Working Group on Constitutional Transformation