Boast; R. P. --- "Book Review - Maori and Pakeha Perspectives of the Treaty of Waitangi" [1989] AboriginalLawB 64; (1989) 1(41) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 15

• Book Review-Maori And Pakeha Perspectives Of The Treaty Of Waitangi

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Book Review -

Maori and Pakeha Perspectives of the Treaty of Waitangi

I. H. Kawharu (ed)

Oxford University Press, Auckland, 1989. RRP; $44.00

Reviewed by R P Boast

This book is a collection of essays edited by Professor I. H. Kawharu of the Department of Maori Studies at Auckland University. The book is an outcome of the recent resurgence of interest in the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand, and certainly represents the most scholarly and comprehensive to appear so far. The book is divided into two parts of six essays each; the authors of part 1 being Pakeha and part 2 Maori. With two exceptions, all of the authors are currently academics; seven are from the University of Auckland. The range of disciplines to which the authors belong include Maori studies, history and law. A selection of some of the essays will give a sense of the range and flavour of the collection; F.M. Brookfield, "The New Zealand Constitution: the search for legitimacy", P.G. McHugh, "Constitutional Theory and Maori Claims", Waerete Norman, "The Muriwhenu Claim", R.J. Walker, "The Treaty of Waitangi as the focus of Maori Protest", M.H. Durie, "The Treaty of Waitangi - Perspectives on Social Policy".

The collection is primarily focused, however, on the law, and would be of most value and interest in Australia to lawyers with an interest in indigenous rights. Although the essays naturally are primarily concerned with developments in New Zealand, the book would be useful to Australian readers not only for comparative purposes but also for the valuable discussions of the common law and international law background to the Treaty and aboriginal rights doctrine. Hardly anything in the book is devoted, however, to Australian developments and cases - no doubt reflecting the perception of most New Zealand academic and professional lawyers that, at least in this area of the law, Australia has comparatively little to offer!

All the essays are of a very high standard, and it is perhaps invidious to pick favourites. Still, to this reviewer at least one stands out. This is Bruce Biggs' brilliant and sparkling "Humpty-Dumpty and the Treaty of Waitangi", a study of the linguistic structure and difficulties of the Maori text of the treaty of Waitangi by an author who is himself Maori and a Professor of Maori Studies and Oceanic Linguistics. His essay is fascinating, witty, and full of surprises. His conclusion, that `te Tiriti' (the Maori version) and `the Treaty' (the English version) are not `in any reasonable sense' equivalent to one another, is not of course new, but this is the most scholarly and authoritative demonstration of this fact that this reviewer has seen.

The book does have a somewhat top heavy emphasis on international law, at least in the 'Pakeha' contributions, and the Australian readers need to be aware that the book does not cover all aspects of the current debate in New Zealand. There is, for example, no essay dealing with the complex legal problems posed by the New Zealand government's programme of corporatisation and privatisation of government agencies - a process which has met with many Maori challenges in the courts, some of them notably successful - or with the debate surrounding the high rates of Maori offending and incarceration and the related suggestion that a separate justice system for Maori be established, an argument which takes its starting point from the provisions of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Events in New Zealand are moving so fast that the book is inevitably already out of date. Although the book was published this year it reflects developments only up to the release of Waitangi Tribunal's Muriwhenua Report in June 1988, and much has happened since then, especially with regard to fisheries and Treaty-based claims to forests and minerals. Australian readers searching for an up-to-date coverage of recent developments in New Zealand need to realise the rapidity of developments on this side of the Tasman.

Nor does the book reflect the totality of Maori and Pakeha perspectives on the Treaty of Waitangi. It might have been interesting to add a 'Pakeha' perspective which is hostile to the Treaty, and a 'Maori' perspective with a somewhat more stringent critique of the existing system, and which advocates the case for self-determination. The book, with the exception of Dr Ranginui Walker's essay, has a disarming unanimity of tone, and Australian readers might end up thinking that the Treaty debate in New Zealand is lacking in controversy - which is far from being the case.

Such caveats aside,, the book is a most worthy and valuable contribution. It is a reliable and scholarly coverage of aspects of the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand. Australian lawyers who are interested in developments in indigenous rights law beyond their own shores should certainly acquire a copy.

R. P. Boast is a Senior Lecturer in Law, Victoria University of Wellington.