The Waitangi tribunal in New Zealand

The Waitangi Tribunal has been initiating major changes in New Zealand in the relationships of Maori and Pakeha. It has helped to revitalise the Treaty of Waitangi to redress Maori grievances over land, fisheries and many other matters. The paper outlines the jurisdiction, composition and procedures of the Tribunal and discusses the Treaty briefly. The Treaty and Maori rights have been given little recognition in legislation until recently and consequently little recognition by the Courts. A major decision of the Appeal Court in 1987 in relation to land held by State‐owned enterprises is discussed, leading to a consideration of the partnership principle fundamental to the Treaty. Because the Tribunal is not exclusively concerned with judicial questions but has a political role as well, its relations with government and administration have to be considered in some detail. Notwithstanding criticism of it and the belief of some that it should have more power, the Tribunal is a major instrument of reform in New Zealand.     

Book reviews

Tham Seong Chee. Social science research in Malaysia, vii, 151pp. Singapore: Graham Brash, 1981.

Anthony Whitten. The gibbons of Siberut. xiii, 207pp., 8 plates. London, etc: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1982. £9.50.

Katrien Polman. The north Moluccas: an annotated bibliography, xx, 192pp. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1981. (Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volkenkunde. Bibliographical . Series, 11.) Guilders 30.

J. H. M. C. Boelaars. Head‐hunters about themselves: an ethnographic report from Irian Jaya₃ Indonesia, xv, 296pp., 15 plates, 5 maps. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1981. (Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volkenkunde, 92.) Guilders 90.     

Book reviews

Jan Bank. Katholieken en de Indonesisohe Bevolutie. 576 pp. + 7 pp. English Summary. Baarn: Amboboeken, C19833. CPublikaties van het Katholiek Documeiitatie Centrum, 11.) Guilders 37.50.

Francois Raillon. Les étudiants indonésiens et l'Ordre Nouveau; pplitique et idéologie du Mahasiswa Indonesia (1966–1974). 351 pp. Paris: Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 1984. (Études Insulindiennes/Archipel, 6.)

Victor T. King. The Maloh of West Kalimantan: an ethnographic study of social inequality and social change among an Indonesian Borneo people. viii, 252pp, 13 plates. Dordrecht: Foris Publications, 1985. (Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volken‐kunde, 108.)

S. A. Niessen. Motifs of life in Toba Batak texts and textiles, viii, 249pp. Dordrecht: Foris Publications, 1985. (Verhandelingen van het Koninklik Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volkenkunde, 110.)