It is refreshing to know that there is at least someone (Christina Humphreys of Katkati) who has taken her head out of the sand and drawn attention to the Maori Party proposal to lock New Zealand into a new written Constitution.
One only need look at the Review Panel to see where that would leave us - out of the ten members, at least half are Maori. Asians outnumber Maori in this country so where are their representatives? The Maori Party aim is to have the Treaty of Waitangi 'principles” entrenched as supreme law.
The Supreme Court would then have the power to strike down any laws deemed inconsistent with the Treaty, and we know how crafty the Maori Party is at using the Treaty to claim ownership of everything under the sun from water to wetas! This would subvert the principle of parliamentary supremacy, which underpins our constituional arrangements. Ultimate power would shift from the people's elected representatives in Parliament to the judiciary.
We already have a very workable unwritten constitution so why, again, waste millions of taxpayers` money mending something which is not broken? The Treaty of Waitangi is no longer a symbol of historic unification but has become a political weapon of division. New Zealand is no longer a country of two races but embraces many who expect, under our laws, to be treated as equal - all Kiwis! Maori trying to entrench biculturalism is divisive, dangerous and backward looking. A Treaty-based constitution would enshrine Maori privilege, turning non-Maori New Zealanders into second-class citizens in their own land. We should all write to our MPs demanding a nation-wide Referendum, not as planned, private meetings with carefully selected interest groups.
Wake up New Zealanders - the rug is about to be pulled from under your feet!.

Mary Brooks, Avenues.