Thank you to everyone who has taken time to respond to my letter to SunLive. C. Humphreys, I am curious about the 85% of 'us” and of 'NZ people” to whom you refer. From where are you drawing your data? And how have you assumed the mandate to represent such a large proportion of New Zealand's citizenry? Your substantive qualification of this point would be appreciated.

I am also intrigued by your claim that, '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!”. In fact, the Treaty's duties can be given force of law (and thereby legal obligations on the Crown), but only if they are incorporated into an Act of New Zealand's Parliament – an indictment of the moral and legal worldview of New Zealand's governments from 1840 until 1975. After all, the Treaty incontrovertibly promises M?ori certain rights and protections, and as partners to a legal compact signed with representatives of the Crown, the burden of delivering those rights does not rest with Maori.

Lastly, for anyone interested, further information on the competing views of legal vs political sovereignty can be found in Prof. Paul McHugh's excellent work The Maori Magna Carta (1991, Oxford University Press).

Kate MacIntyre, Wellington.