“Iwi versus Peewee”: A Good, Old-Fashioned Debate

It is the particular tragedy of contemporary New Zealand politics that, with the noble exception of Bradbury’s Working Group, the critical cultural, political and constitutional issues raised by the Treaty Principles Bill will not be fairly, frankly or fearlessly debated anywhere else.

, and Chris Trotter

14 October 2024 . 9:15 AM

6 min read

First of all, congratulations to Martyn Bradbury for doing what the mainstream media has refused to do – debate the Treaty. Bradbury’s Working Group has many faults, not the least of which is its host’s seemingly inexhaustible capacity for bombast, but being afraid to bring diametrically opposed political players together for a good, old-fashioned debate isn’t one of them. Watching the Working Group’s lively exchanges instantly calls forth the question: Why can’t the mainstream media do this?

We’ll come to that but, before we do, it is only fair to review the debate itself.