Foreign Minister Winston Peters delivers speech in Oxford Union debate

Foreign Minister Winston Peters told the Oxford Union Debate that courts were undermining democracy in New Zealand. Photo / Mark Mitchell

By Russell Palmer of RNZ

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has delivered a speech in an Oxford Union debate, arguing the courts undermine democracy.

His attendance at the debates in England follows those of Act leader David Seymour in June and Labour MP Willie Jackson in May last year.

The trio are the first sitting New Zealand MPs to take part since David Lange famously said he could smell the uranium on his opponent’s breath in a debate over nuclear weapons.

In his speech, Peters said examples of judicial overreach in New Zealand included resource management, the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, and the place of tikanga in the Marine and Coastal Areas Act foreshore and seabed legislation.

“All of these examples have one thing in common. They show that while democracy is founded on the idea that the people through their elected representatives have the final say in how our countries should operate, too often this popular will has faced baseless challenge,” he said.

“Making these observations is not an attack on judges generally. It is simply to stand up for the idea that, in a democracy, Parliament is the highest court in the land.”

He said judicial independence had been the foundation stone underpinning the rule of law and New Zealand-style democracy, but “was not put there for them to start exercising the right of elected representatives”.

On tikanga, he said recent courts had weakened the test introduced by Parliament “by introducing a new concept, ‘tikanga’, an ambiguous concept of Māori lore because ‘tikanga’ between tribes is different from tribe to tribe to tribe”.

“This judicial activism was never the intention of legislators, nor made mention of, and we have been forced to legislate this week to restore the original intent.”

Quoting the late US President Abraham Lincoln, he said only elected politicians could govern “by the people”, and despite its failings, Parliament must strive to be the voice of the people.

His position was defeated 140 votes to 70.

– RNZ