So pleased I have rattled your chain Kate MacIntyre and great you have taken the time to read and maybe learn something.
The Treaty of Waitangi was never recognised in international law and was never part of our municipal law. Generally, the Treaty does not create any legal rights that the courts can enforce despite the 1975 Treaty of Waitangi Act. So it still has no legal standing as such in NZ so get over yourself!
Certainly nothing about the Treaty legitimates NZ governmental authority; it was first acquired by a British Empire Act and falls into the category of Colonies acquired by occupation. Then the 1852 Act, Westminster institutions of Government established in New Zealand. So the NZ government was established nothing to do with the Treaty!
All of this is history and New Zealand needs to grow up and move forward as ‘One People', which is what 85% of us want?
But no the ‘Maori Party' with their select minority group of radicals want to keep on with these separatist actions to create more division all in the name of power and greed! Now it's to enshrine the ‘Treaty of Waitangi' in a ‘Written Constitution' so it can never be changed! What about the trip to United Nations to sign up as the Indigenous People of NZ with no mandate from the NZ government or people. Its relentless these separatist agendas all to acquire Sovereignty or self-rule.
You Ms MacIntyre have to be an academic socialist who can't see the bigger picture here!
What a joke, better call Susan Devoy I am accused of bad punctuation! Well I am sorry, but the tolerance of 85% of NZ people is wearing a bit thin now and the aim of a few of us is to warn the people of what is happening here. This Constitutional Review was another thing that was set to go under the radar so we have made it our business to inform the public and we haven't finished yet!

C.Humphreys, Katikati.