Goldsmith on Treaty clauses

Newsroom reports:

While the review came out of a NZ First policy, the work is being led by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who told Newsroom there was “a habit of forming, of just throwing in a Treaty reference – a very broad one – in every piece of legislation that was coming along without much thought as to what the actual consequences of that would be or wouldn’t be”.

During the past three decades, Parliament had not always been clear about what specific Treaty provisions meant or were trying to achieve, Goldsmith said.

“That’s left the courts, and the agencies themselves, and businesses and local councils all to free-range as to what it does mean and doesn’t mean.

“And that’s created uncertainty, and frankly some outcomes that need some revision,” he said.

“We’re trying to honour Treaty commitments, while at the same time, never losing sight of the basic expectations of people living in a modern, democratic society, primarily to be treated equally and to have equality before the law.”

Goldsmith said reconciling those two things was where the challenge lay.

He talked about making Treaty provisions more consistent, clearer and more specific. But this review was likely to lead to some of these clauses being removed from legislation – both retrospectively and when new bills came before Parliament.

Good to see the Government focused on removing ambiguity. This is an area that needs clarity.