Equality in the Law and MÄ ori Hon. Justice Christian Whata*
As you may have guessed, I want to talk about equality.1 But before doing so, I want to mention an experience that provides an illustration of the curious position of indigenous people and the law, and the ingenuity of counsel acting for indigenous peoples. In an earlier version of this speech I was going to refer to the absence of indigenous icons in popular culture as an illustration of a broader absence of recognition of indigenous culture and norms, including within the law. I was going to make the point that very rarely do we see indigenous heroes make it into big budget movies. But there is one notable exception, the demi-God MÄ ui, who is one of the central
characters in the Disney Movie, Moana. This is a significant though isolated achievement. And in some ways mirrors the evolution in the law, where indigenous norms are finding their way into mainstream thinking. I was going to put up a picture of him from the movie because he looks awesome. But it was pointed out to me that I needed permission from Disney to use the picture. The approval process takes 8 weeks. I gave up on the idea. My co-speaker, Karen Feint (now QC) was not however so easily deterred. Within 24 hours her team had developed a principled basis for asserting an indigenous right to use imagery of cultural icons. My other co-speaker Antony McAvoy SC liked the argument too, though said he would prefer to act for Disney on this one.2 In any event, it is an example of the ingenuity of counsel operating in this space. I should mention that Disney is faultless in all of this. It never got the opportunity to say yes or no.
I wish to note that I have drawn on a lecture I gave at the Auckland Law School which can be found at: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/law/our-research/ research-institutes-centres/aotearoa-nzc-indigenous-peoples-law/news-events/public-lectures-events/public-lecture--justice-whata.html - I hope to publish that lecture in full at some time in the future. I also wish to note that this article is not a verbatim transcription of my speech. Some editorial licence has been employed. 2 Mr McAvoy would later point out in his speech that this observation was a classic example of a judge misinterpreting counsel. He noted simply that Disney might have the better argument. 1
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