Its Official: The Royal Society of NZ's Race-Based Funding is a constitutional requirement.

ACTs Treaty Principles debate has clarified a lot of things we never understood before in New Zealand. For example, Kiwi Blog report, "Taxpayers are funding 20 Future Leader Fellowships. Each one is worth over $800,000 so [that's] $16 million from taxpayers. MBIE has delegated decisions on who gets them to the Royal Society of NZ. Their criteria are:

• At least 20% must go to researchers who are Māori

• At least 10% must identify as Pacific ethnicity

• At least 50% must go to researchers who identify as female"

David Farrar, pollster for the Nats & owner of Kiwi Blog, says this is "identity politics" so its "Time for the Government to act!" But the Nats can't act. The Royal Society is not playing identity politics. Its abiding by NZ's constitutional framework, as newly outlined by our Kings Counsels in their letter to the PM. They state, "This [Treaty] principle recognizes the Crown’s obligation to treat Māori equitably with other groups & to achieve equitable outcomes". They declare the principle to be part of NZ's "constitutional arrangements".

Consequently, the Royal Society is abiding by the most basic, fundamental legal imperatives of the nation, according to our law profession. "Equitable outcomes", which form part of them, is an extremely strong requirement. The use of the word "outcomes" means it is an unambiguous necessity for the Society to reserve at least 20% of their Fellowships to Māori since Māori make up around 20% of the population - and outcomes, such as who wins fellowships, must be in the same proportion.

However, our judiciary have no clue of the effect on jobs and livelihoods of their philosophizing. Most economists prefer the aim of "equal opportunities", which would mean ensuring different people have similar opportunities to apply for fellowships. That aim may justify out-reach programs for the disadvantaged & provision of support to help them send an application. All applications would then be assessed on merit. But NZ's law profession has ruled that our Royal Society - any organization in NZ for that matter - is heavily constrained as to the degree to which decisions can be made on meritocratic grounds - since merit leads to different outcomes for different people and groups.

Should the PM, on reading Kiwi Blog's advice, tell the Society to stop race-based funding, the Society is obliged to refuse. Why? Its following not only the law - but constitutional law. The PM, in declaring he will kill ACT's Principle's Bill, stated on national TV such matters must be decided "issue by issue". That means should he ask the Society to stop & it refuses, the only way to resolve things is to take this "issue" to Court. Who'd win? The Society. It would invoke our "constitutional arrangements" that include a requirement of "equitable outcomes". NZ's lawyers must love the PM for saying all decisions in the nation must now be decided issue by issue with regard to their implementation of The Principles. That means endless court cases, litigation & NZ bankrupting as productivity goes to zero. The only winners are lawyers for whom every contentious "issue" means litigation, money & fees.

Sources: https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2024/11/royal_society_tells_asian_and_european_male_researchers_to_stuff_off.html

https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/what-we-do/funds-and-opportunities/tawhia-te-mana/mana-tuapapa/information-for-applicants/

https://www.chrislynchmedia.com/news-items/kings-counsel-call-on-government-to-withdraw-proposed-treaty-principles-bill-citing-constitutional-concerns/

NZ Descends into a S*!# Show on the World Stage. MPs Mock Judges. Legal "Royalty" Mock MPs. Other MPs Mock their own Parliament. We're not a serious nation.

Let there be no doubt. NZ has turned into a world laughing stock. A nation without a clue what it stands for - what is in, or out of, its constitution - if it even has one - whose MPs can't explain & debate issues - is a country that cannot long endure. The question for the PM is not why he didn't address the hīkoi - it is why he didn't join it. After all Luxon's key objective is the same as Te Pāti Māori: Kill the Bill. Justice Minister Goldsmith, who's trying to have it both ways, told Parliament the Party didn't agree with ACTs Principles Bill, but at the same time said, "The interpretations given by the courts are not gospel". So he's telling judges, in a polite way, to go jump in the lake, as well as ACT. Meanwhile Labour MP Willie Jackson sided with those judges. He "denounces [ACTs] foul attempt to rewrite the constitutional framework of this nation". Jackson and our Kings Counsels say we've already signed up to a set of Principles, written by courts, and can't change them. One is equitable outcomes. No economist in the world has a clue how to enforce equitable outcomes, although Chairman Mao in China once tried - even the Chinese don't want to talk about how that ended up.

Meanwhile, a bunch of other MPs, mainly from Te Pāti Māori, don't believe their fellow MPs should have any power to decide anything - that Parliament lacks legitimacy and has no sovereignty over Māori. One said in Parliament, "ACT are seen to be pulling the strings and running the country, like the KKK with a swipe card to the Beehive". I presume he's likening Seymour to a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Deputy PM Peters is no better. He characterized the University of Auckland’s action of having designated areas for Māori & Pasifika students as comparable to racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Whether its Labour or National, you name them .. our MPs have turned this nation into a circus.

My subject is economics, not politics, but any nation whose MPs debate like this, act like this, explain issues like this, can forget about prosperity. Our MPs have made the world, but most importantly us locals, think differently about the country this week.