Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Stephens on Maori Constitutionalism

Māmari Stephens, Victoria University of Wellington, has posted “To Work Out Their Own Salvation”: Māori Constitutionalism and the Quest for Welfare, which appeared in the Victoria University Wellington Law Review 46 (2015):1-30:
New Zealand recently celebrated 75 years of the implementation of the welfare state in 1938. While debate continues about the nature and effectiveness of state welfare provision, welfare is arguably a matter of constitutional concern in New Zealand. Further examination of New Zealand legal history also shows that the welfare of Māori is indeed a matter of deep constitutional concern to Māori, who have consistently sought legislative and extra-legislative ways to have public power used for broad Māori welfare concerns. It is possible to identify a kind of Māori welfare constitutionalism at work, that is arguably in tension with the thinking and practice that produced the welfare state.