Tim McCready: Co-governance shouldn't be a political football

Hayden Wilson. Photo / Supplied

Opinion

OPINION:

The way that debate has played out is reflective of something that I am increasingly concerned about in New Zealand: a developing division in the political discourse that is artificially divided in a way similar to what we have seen play out recently overseas.

Top law firm boss Hayden Wilson says that co-governance, in a legal sense, is not a new concept, and while it is sensible to discuss appropriate governance models for the public sector, he is concerned about the way it is being latched on to as a rhetorical tool in political debate.

Ongoing water and health reforms have seen co-governance make headlines recently.

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta says that co-governance is about the Crown meeting treaty obligations and maintaining relationships between councils and mana whenua.

But National Party leader Christopher Luxon believes New Zealanders don't have a good idea of what it means, and suggests the Government needs to set out clear guidelines on what is and what is not included for constitutional issues such as co-governance.

Wilson, who chairs Dentons Kensington Swan and is a member of Dentons' global board of directors, says New Zealand's government exists as a result of a treaty partnership, and governance models that seek to reflect that relationship with Māori and provide for a more inclusive decision-making, can only be a good thing.

"Co-governance is a product of New Zealand's unique place in the world and our unique arrangements," he says, noting it offers a real opportunity for something that is different, more effective, and truly New Zealand.

"It may be an attractive political football… but the way that debate has played out is reflective of something that I am increasingly concerned about in New Zealand: a developing division in the political discourse that is artificially divided in a way similar to what we have seen play out recently overseas."

We're about where we should be in the political cycle

Recent political polls have shown Labour and National roughly equal. When asked about polling in terms of the current electoral cycle, Wilson thinks it is "about where it should be. If things weren't at a reasonably even balance now, you would be wondering what was going wrong, really."

He says, to some extent, our perception of party polling has been shifted by the 2020 election, where for the first time since MMP was introduced in 1996 a party won enough seats to govern alone, with Labour receiving 50 per cent of the party vote.

"We do need to put that down to being a Covid election," he says.

"It was a kind of 'wartime' election, and I think everyone who observes politics knew that it was going to come with challenges having that level of mandate, along with a larger caucus."

Wilson recognises the past three years have felt long and stressful, particularly for those with responsibilities to keep businesses functioning and people employed. He says we are at a real crunch time — the global economy is impacting New Zealand's economy, and along with inflation and the fall in house prices, is making people nervous and will likely set the scene for next year's election.

"Government needs to be seen to be delivering on some of those big ideas and converting them into something that feels like a difference for an electorate that is quite grouchy."

Wilson says it will be essential for Government to make itself look fresh again because there is an extent to which the public gets tired of seeing the same people over and over again.

"We have had five years now of a Government that has been quite tightly controlled by a small group of Ministers who have a lot of responsibility, who I am sure are just as tired as the rest of us.

"There is only so much you can send Chris Hipkins and Megan Woods in to fix. How does the Government put a fresh bench forward to make the case they should have another three years?"