Williams told Goldsmith he had emailed him but did not expect a reply. That email, dated December 2023, detailed his concerns about the now-defeated bill and its political context. “We both know a referendum is not the clean ‘democracy in action’ play that it is purported to be. “I’d be very happy to meet up and talk through some of the things you raised, any time,” he wrote. The Treaty Principles Bill was defeated at its second reading in April.

Source: New Zealand Herald December 23, 2025 21:58 UTC