Skip to main content
Contribution to Book
"Open the Doors and Where are the People?: Constitutional Dialogue in the Shadow of the People"
We, The Peoples: Participation in Governance (2011)
  • Matthew S. R. Palmer
Abstract
The chapter applies an approach of ‘constitutional realism’ in addressing the question ‘where are the people?’ in New Zealand’s constitution. It outlines the reality of New Zealand’s constitution in terms of the dynamics of its constitutional dialogue and its underlying norms and culture. With that context, it examines the position of ‘the people’ in New Zealand’s constitution: how people in New Zealand can currently engage with and participate in governance. It concludes by noting that the most important manifestation of the people in New Zealand is through democratic representation in Parliament. It emphasises the under-appreciated importance of the New Zealand people in the constitutional dialogue that occurs between the political and judicial branches of government.
Disciplines
Publication Date
2011
Editor
Claire Charters and Dean R Knight
Publisher
Victoria University Press
Citation Information
Matthew S. R. Palmer. "Open the Doors and Where are the People?: Constitutional Dialogue in the Shadow of the People" We, The Peoples: Participation in Governance. Ed. Claire Charters and Dean R Knight. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2011, pp 50-74. Available at: http://works.bepress.com/matthew_palmer/33