Beyond UNDRIP into 'The Hui'

Besides New Zealand's abhorrent and active opposition to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), one of the most damning aspects of the documents is its relative inefficacy. There is no requirement – no more is there any incentive – on signatories to implement new measures, change the way things are conducted or even consider its existence. The reasons for this are complicated and I would suggest that it boils down to broader shortcomings of the United Nations as an institution, however, it remains true that UNDRIP is about as effective as a lead parachute. We may do well to examine the interplay between UNDRIP, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and modern law, and how this feeds into discourses of the media and the public sphere.

Indeed, the question of tino rangatiratanga (Māori sovereignty and chieftainship) over their lands and taonga and its displacement by Crown governance has long been contested. The special relationship arising from the Crown’s obligations to Māori would, to me, indicate that this contestation evolves into a question of human rights. It is difficult to seperate the interests and concerns flowing through and around te Tiriti from issues of self-determination, lived experiences and thus, by natural association, universal human rights. The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 affords important protections to people in minority groups to “enjoy the culture”, that is, their culture, and acts intended to deny that right are unlawful. It would appear that the Crown has failed (and continues to fail) to abide the legal letter. Māori enjoyed a physical and metaphysical relationship with land, freshwater bodies and environments. The land – the taonga – is inseparable from culture and identity formation. Denial of the right of iwi control and use of such resources is intrinsically bound up in a denial of culture.

Host of TV3's The Hui, Mihingarangi Forbes

The denial of Māori access to mainstream media channels and the ongoing reinforcement of this inequity does, in my view, constitutes an important departure from the law. Such activities are not only important economic and social enterprises but are critical aspects of identity formation. Māoridom is not mainstream; Pakeha is. Where we have made great strides towards ensuring and ‘exnominating’ the whiteness of our most popular media outlets, we have also had success in compartmentalising and segregating Māori out of the norm. While Māori Television is a critical actor in the protection and preservation of Māori identity, particularly through language, it remains easily ignored by the general population who can simply jump the channel. We may, however, see signs of those involved with indigenous media production encouraging the expansion of definitively Maori-made media into the mainstream, through such forms as TV3’s Re-Think and new show The Hui with the operating principle of “Māori current affairs for all New Zealanders”.

It is important to remain ambivalent to the suggestion that we are on a trajectory towards greater social cohesion, particular when such suggestions attempt to downplay the ongoing reality for many involved in that supposed cohesion. Examining the relationship between the law and the public sphere, and how that dynamic impacts and is impacted by important aspects of indigenous media is critical to maintaining that ambivalence.