For many years, Maori activists have resolutely campaigned for Maori sovereignty, the aim of which is to gain constitutional powers for Maori to administer Maori resources and affairs and for acknowledgement of their role as a partner.

This commitment and objective is sustained by their understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi, by social statistics, by the continued under-development of Maori resources, the continued dis-empowerment of Maori and by the belated recognition of historical wrong-doing by the Crown.

In addition, Pakeha Treaty. and Anti-Racism workers have organised educational and supportive activities, motivated by past and current injustices, including institutionalised racism. Various committees among both Maori and Pakeha have developed draft constitutions designed to give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi.

This brief summary is to encourage the study of all aspects of 'sovereignty', including sovereignty supposedly enjoyed by all Pakeha.

Viewed objectively, the campaign for Maori Sovereignty has remained largely marginalised and misunderstood. It has been presented as a stand-alone issue. Pakeha supporters, unknowingly, have reinforced this relative isolation of the Maori Sovereignty goal, by ignoring the common ground that exists between Maori and Pakeha on the question of sovereignty.

Within the Pakeha communities, there are movements concerned with sovereignty. These mainly relate to the removal of the Queen as Head of State and the right of Appeal to the Privy Council. In fact, the dominant view confines discussion of constitutional change to whether or not New Zealand should become a Republic. Recently, the signing of a trade. agreement with Singapore has highlighted the sovereignty question and aroused opposition.

But the question of sovereignty is a far deeper, more extensive and of a more immediate question than just overcoming feudal hangovers. Sovereignty is not a constitutional issue far removed from the daily life of the people. It concerns every aspect of their lives - jobs, income, transport, health. This relationship has not been studied. It is where common ground will be identified. In actual fact, the majority of Pakeha are also disempowered and disadvantaged.

When we think of sovereignty, we generally think of the power of a country to make decisions affecting its territory and interests, independently, and free from external pressure, interference or control.

In this sense, New Zealand has a degree of nominal political independence. However, due to the Queen as Head of State, the sovereign powers of the New Zealand government are qualified - and reduced There is also the implications of economic and financial powers possessed by excessive foreign ownership in major industries.

Unlike many countries, New Zealand does not have a written constitution. In some constitutions, such as India and Pakistan, there is specific reference to 'sovereignty' residing in the people'. Article 2 of the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) states that" all power in the PRC belongs to the people".

In the New Zealand Constitution Act 1986, all of 3 pages 1ong, clause 14 (1) states that "There shall be a Parliament of New Zealand, which shall consist of the Sovereign in right of New Zealand and the House of Representatives." Clause 15 (1) states that "The Parliament of New Zealand continues to have full powers to make laws."

There is no mention in the Constitution Act 1986 that the people have sovereign powers or that all power belongs to the people. Power resides in parliament. With its power to make laws, parliament can ignore the people. In making treaties with foreign powers, the Cabinet -the executive - has exclusive powers. There is no constitutional-legal constraint on Cabinet.

In New Zealand Education & Treatyism, the author, W. Christie of the One NZ Party writes -"sovereignty exists neither in the Crown or Government but in the New Zealand citizens themselves." Further, "NZ sovereignty is their (the citizens) authority, expressed through their MP elected, whose duty it is to effect in their parliament, what becomes their law".

These views do not correspond to reality and are contrary to historical and constitutional facts.

The above book is hostile to Maori. Hostility to Maori is generally coupled with falsely representing the issue of sovereignty.

Parliament possesses powers to pass laws without reference to or in consultation with the people -clause 15(1) of the Constitution Act 1986. As discovered recently, the Executive (Cabinet) has the power to sign treaties, such as the Singapore Trade Treaty, without reference to parliament and the people even though the Treaty will worsen the living standards of some citizens and reduce the nominal sovereign powers of parliament. No Bill before the House of Representatives can become Law until the Queen or the Governor-General gives assent and signs it. Again, an obstacle exists limiting the authority and will of the people. But there are other areas concerning sovereignty that must be investigated - corporate powers.

The level of a country's sovereignty and independence may be measured by its ownership or control over major branches of industry. In the last two years, a number of corporations have had the authority and will to sell out to foreign buyers, without any reference to parliament.

Lion Nathan was bought up by a Japanese brewer. Forest Paper and Pulp was sold to Norwegian interests. Shell Oil is striving to buy Fletcher Energy which owns vital oil and gas resources. Tranzrail has publicised plans to close branch lines and passenger services. Telecom is a law unto-itself. The Trading Banks have a notorious record of dosing branches, reducing staff and hiking up transaction fees. Readers will know of other examples. The corporations have the authority, the power and the will to act while parliament looks on. The corporations possess the sovereignty. The people don't.

Nowhere in any New Zealand constitutional documents are the people acknowledged as having :

• the Right to Work,
• the Right to adequate shelter,
• the Right to free medical treatment, or
• the right to free education.

Trade unionists do not enjoy rights generally recognised by international agreements. The sovereign rights of working people are minimal.

An objective investigation will show that the majority of Pakeha, who are working people, have deep-seated, fundamental concerns with the question of sovereignty. At the work place, who has sovereignty? When foreign corporations sack tens of thousands of workers, who has the sovereignty? When dealing with government departments, who has the sovereignty?

The sum total of all 'sovereignty issues' affecting Pakeha establishes decisive and overwhelming levels of common ground between Maori and Pakeha. This common ground exists objectively, independent of human will. Once identified and used to build a people's movement, real strength will unfold.

The empowerment of Pakeha working people and communities is in essence a struggle to develop 'peoples' sovereignty'. Essentially, this struggle is to limit and over come the authority, power and will of foreign corporations and their local partners. Since the Energy reforms, thousands of householders have been given a sharp lesson in who holds sovereignty - the corporations, not the people.

In essence, Peoples sovereignty and Maori sovereignty goals are inter-connected and interdependent. To overcome the marginalising of Maori sovereignty, the investigation of the sovereign rights denied Pakeha people, especially working people, needs to be undertaken. The real test for Pakeha supporters of Maori sovereignty will be whether they are prepared to investigate the level of sovereignty enjoyed by the People and convince themselves that there is common ground.

Once the fact is established among Pakeha supporters of Maori sovereignty that the majority of Pakeha are unable to exercise sovereignty, there will be new vigour within the anti-racism movement. From that starting point, networking with various sectors of the communities will certainly grow. These various sectors will find that their interests require Constitutional changes also, and that to achieve them, the unity of Maori and Pakeha is the key. The People United Can Never Be Defeated.