Participants Private Page

Posted: 11 September 2020

POST-WORKSHOP UPDATE

Hi everyone,

The EmpowerNZ workshop was a huge success. You all did an amazing job tackling some incredibly contentious issues and trusting each other to produce a fantastic result.

The Draft Constitution: We have sent you each three copies of the Draft Constitution to the address you provided in your initial registration, so that you can share the document with your friends and whanau. You can also download a PDF of final version here.

Since this document’s creation, some minor edits have been made in consultation with the facilitators. These revisions were in keeping with the original intent of publishing a polished document of which you can all be proud, whilst preserving the spirit of the workshop, and your ideas that came out of it.

In addition to publishing the final version of the document on Friday, we also launched an interactive website – created by one of your fellow participants, Christian Silver, using his 10 ‘pay it forward’ hours.

The launch was covered by the New Zealand Herald – you can see the article here.

The Addendum: Alongside the Draft Constitution, I have published an addendum, which explains the workshop process so that the document can be understood in light of its strengths and limitations. We know that not all of you agreed on all parts of the final text, and that this was largely due to the time pressure of the event. Professor Philip Joseph’s has kindly put together his Reflections on the workshop, that you will also find interesting.

We have clarified, in both the media release and in the addendum, that there was a general consensus on the five values reflected in the Preamble, but the time pressure meant complete agreement and consistency over Parts 1 to 5 was not possible. We have explained that this was part of the reason you strongly advocated for the word ‘Draft’ to be front cover of the final document.

You will see at the bottom left of the interactive website there is a feedback function, and we hope this will facilitate further discussion – both from you and the general public.

The Future of EmpowerNZ: EmpowerNZ is yours to own now. You are all youth ambassadors for the issues discussed at the workshop and we hope that you will use your 10 ‘pay it forward’ hours to advance the civic causes at the heart of EmpowerNZ workshop. Please keep us informed of your progress, via Facebook, Twitter or email, and we will make sure your efforts get attention on the McGuinness Institute blog.

Survey on the Workshop: We stressed from the beginning that the workshop would be an experiment, and we are really interested to learn as much as possible from the participants about their experience so that we can continue to improve the our work.

We are in the process of creating a brief survey which asks for some reflections on how you would rate some aspects of the workshop. It should only take 15 minutes to complete. We will add the link here shortly.

The survey results will be analysed and used in Report 14 – EmpowerNZ: Drafting a Constitution for the 21st Century, a report we will be releasing later this year.

Photos from the Workshop: We will be emailing you all photos of yourselves at the workshop soon. If there are any you have seen on Facebook that you would particularly like a copy of, please email us.

Lost Property: There was a pair of women’s black suede shoes left in one of the rooms at the Gourmet Stay Hotel. If they belong to you, email Niki and she will arrange for you to be reunited with them.

Please keep in touch: Definitely one of the biggest highlights of the workshop for the McGuinness Institute staff was meeting such a passionate and interesting group of people. We are always keen to hear from you, so please feel free to give us a call on (04) 499 8888, or email Niki or Ella. Niki and Ella will continue to be your key contacts at the Institute.

If you are ever in the area, you’re also more than welcome to come and visit us in person – we would love to see you all again. Our office is on the waterfront in the Wellington Free Ambulance building near Mac’s Brewery (Level 2, 5 Cable Street, Wellington).

Thank you again, and hope to hear from you soon,

Wendy and the team.

Posted: 24 August 2020

UPDATE

Speakers: Great news! We are able to confirm the following new speakers: Hon Peter Dunne, Te Ururoa Flavell, Charles Chauvel, Metiria Turei, and Mai Chen. Unfortunately Justice Joseph Williams has to be in court in Rotorua over the workshop and is no longer able to attend in person. Instead, he has set the eight facilitators some tough questions which they will respond to in 3 minutes on Tuesday night. Should be a great evening!

Number of Participants: The interest has been amazing; we have decided to add one further table, taking us to 50 participants. This means a new updated contact list. This also means we needed one further facilitator, and we are very pleased to let you know Jess Birdsall-Day has joined us (thanks Jess). Jess came up with another great question that we really wanted to add, so if you have any spare time over the weekend, it would be great if you could consider this additional question.

Question 8: What, if any, responsibilities does New Zealand have to developing countries?  Does New Zealand’s geographic location and relationship with its Pacific neighbours create special responsibilities?  Should these be included in a constitution for the 21st century? Why or why not? If yes, what might these responsibilities look like?

Finale: We also have had amazing interest in the finale – over 200 RSVP’d, including over 40 MPs, this is a great result. We can still add people to the finale RSVP list up until Monday 9.00am (please email Ella Spittle).

Don’t forget: (i) Bring something that resonates with you in regard to NZ and/or the constitution. Gillian McCarthy is the lead designer, and her team will be using these things as inspiration for the final output of the workshop. (ii) Business attire. We have had a couple of questions about what ‘business attire’ means. As long as you are all neat and tidy (and not wearing jeans!), that would be great. A tie is not essential.

Twitter/Facebook: We are hoping to facilitate a wider discussion. During the event, Niki will be tweeting from the @McGInsitute twitter account using the tag #EmpowerNZ. Let your friends and family know that they can follow the workshop this way and join in on the conversation! Niki has organised some facebook profile pics – if you like, choose the one that best suits you, upload it, and then enjoy the buzz it creates!

Posted: 14 August 2020

WELCOME

Welcome to this private page for EmpowerNZ participants. You need the direct link to get here, so be sure to bookmark it. It’s now less than ten days until the workshop, and this page contains all the information you need to know about the how, when and where. Niki Lomax is the key contact for participants, so if you have any additional questions, please contact Niki by email, by phone during office hours (04) 499 8888 or by mobile 2020 697701 (ideally text). Please save her mobile on your phone.

We have allocated you each a participant number so that the facilitators can move you into a range of different groups quickly throughout the two days. The first group exercise is before the workshop (see 1. [B] Get Prepared below).

The workshop has come together really well. For all Wellington people and those of you that arrive before 8.30pm, Niki will be at the Gourmet Stay Hotel to complete your registration and allocate your room for the three nights. At least half of you should be able to settle in before the 8.30 team talk. See you all Monday night about 8.30pm!

Work hard, think heaps, reflect lots – see you soon …

Wendy McGuinness (and all the team at the Institute) and Dean Knight (and all the facilitators)

1. How you can help us in the next 10 days
2. Please bring some cash
3. Arriving in to Wellington
4. Registration: Gourmet Stay Hotel, Monday 27 August, by 8.30pm
5. Team Talk: Gourmet Stay Hotel, 8.30-9.30pm
6. Breakfast and other food
7. Transport to and from Parliament
8. What you will need for Parliament
9. Departing from Wellington Airport
10. Map of locations in Wellington
11. Map of participants
12. Nation Dates
13. Finale invites for friends and family
14. Code of Conduct for the Workshop
15. Questions and suggestions most welcome

1. How you can help us

[A] Tweet: Talk to your friends and family about the EmpowerNZ workshop. We will be tweeting from Monday using the tag #EmpowerNZ. If you are on twitter, it would be great if you could let your followers know about the workshop. It would also be great if you could follow the Institute @McGInstitute and on Facebook.
Tweet #EmpowerNZ

[B] Get Prepared: We have allocated one primary question for everyone to answer and one secondary question for smaller groups to tackle. Please research and reflect upon these questions in the 10 days before the start of the workshop. The goal is to ensure that each workshop group has a base level of knowledge and some specific thoughts. We encourage participants with the same secondary question to connect in order to develop some consensus. If you feel out of your depth or have a really challenging question, contact the facilitator listed below – this stuff is not always easy. We also suggest you discuss your question with friends and family to find out what they think and bring those observations along to the workshop.

1. What is the purpose or purposes of a constitution? To enable government? To protect citizens? To constrain government? To restrain citizens? To say something about the nation and its identity? To do anything else? Given this background, what is good or bad about New Zealand’s current constitutional framework? Does it need to be improved?  If yes, how could the current framework be improved? [Primary Question, you all need to try to answer this question, Facilitator: Dean Knight]
2. What is the difference between rights and responsibilities? Should or should not a constitution address both rights and responsibilities? Why or why not? Should/should not all people’s rights and responsibilities be equal? Why or why not? [Secondary Question: Participants 08, 09, 12, 13, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, Facilitator: Carwyn Jones]
3. What, if any, responsibilities do New Zealand citizens have to (i) each other, and (ii) other citizens of the world? Should these be included in a constitution for the 21st century? Why or why not? If yes, what might these responsibilities look like? [Secondary Question: Participants 04, 06, 10, 11, 14, 35, 36, 39, 41, 42, Facilitator: Diane White]
4. What, if any, responsibilities do New Zealand citizens have to (i) New Zealand’s natural resources (e.g. land, water and ocean) and flora and fauna, and (ii) the planet as a whole? Should any of these responsibilities be included in a constitution for the 21st century? Why or why not? If yes, what might these responsibilities look like? [Secondary Question: Participants 05, 07, 18, 23, 44, 45, 49 Facilitator: Natalie Coates]
5. What, if any, responsibilities do current New Zealand citizens have to (i) past New Zealanders, and (ii) future New Zealanders? Should these be included in a constitution for the 21st century? Why or why not? If yes, what might these responsibilities look like? [Secondary Question: Participants 17, 19, 22, 24, 25, 43, 47, 50 Facilitator: Mihiata Pirini]
6. Is the process by which a constitution is made important? Does the process affect the legitimacy or resilience of a constitution? What processes are better? Or worse? Why? [Secondary Question: Participants 1, 2, 3, 32,33, 37,38, 40,48 Facilitator: Edward Willis]
7. Looking ahead, what are the issues New Zealand as a nation, and in particular our elected governors, might face in the next 50 years? What does that tell you about the type of constitution New Zealand might need for the 21st century? [Secondary Question: Participants 15, 16, 29, 30, 31, 34, 46 Facilitator: Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere ]

[C] Read: Familiarise yourselves as much as possible with the texts and timeline we have listed on the EmpowerNZ website.  At the very least, we would like you all to read the following texts. They provide a good overview of some of the key themes that will be discussed at the workshop.

1. McGuinness, W. and White, D. (June 2020). Working Paper 2020/01: The State of the Constitutional Review as at June 2020. McGuinness Institute: Wellington
2. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, have recently launched a new section on their website about New Zealand’s constitution.
3. Elias, Rt Hon. Dame S. (29 June 2020). Address to Legal Research Foundation Seminar: Mapping the Constitutional. Auckland Museum Auditorium.
4. Jackson, M. (2020) Constitutional Transformation: An Interview with Moana Jackson. In Weeping Waters: The Treaty of Waitangi and Constitutional Change, (eds.)  Malcolm Mulholland and Veronica Tawhai. Huia Publishers: Wellington
5. Palmer, M. S. R. (2020) “What is New Zealand’s Constitution and Who Interprets it? Constitutional Realism and the Importance of Public Office-holders.” 17 Public Law Review 133.
6. Palmer, M. S. R. (2020) “New Zealand Constitutional Culture.” 22 New Zealand Universities Law Review 565.

[D] Watch: The EmpowerNZ website has lots of great resources relevant to the workshop. In particular, we encourage you to have a look at the videos page, which has 5 interesting videos all relating to constitutional issues.

1. The New Zealand Constitutional Crisis of 2020 (2020)
2. Announcement of the Constitutional Review (December 2020)
3. Mai Chen speaking at StrategyNZ: Mapping our Future (March 2020)
4. Sir Mason Durie speaking at StrategyNZ: Mapping our Future (March 2020)
5. Australian Civics & Heritage Foundation (AusCivics) clip from The West Wing, Re-writing a constitution for the Republic of Belarus, Season 6, Episode 14 (October 2020)

[E] Reflect and bring along something special: Take some time to think about what a constitution means to you. Be creative and if possible bring something along to the workshop that reflects your thoughts. We have some designers joining us and they want to feel inspired. We plan to have a table where these images, items, quotes or thoughts can be placed, so help them get their creative juices working. We need them to work with us.

3. Arriving in to Wellington

By now, those of you travelling to Wellington for the workshop should have received information about your flights from Niki Lomax. If you have not received E-Tickets yet, or if you have any concerns, please contact Niki as soon as possible. We have arranged transport for you from Wellington Airport to the accommodation. For participants travelling from outside of Wellington, we have arranged accommodation for you at the Gourmet Stay Hotel (25 Frederick Street, Te Aro, Wellington) and the Comfort Hotel (213 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington). See map below. These hotels are in walking distance of each other, and we will let you know which one you are staying at during registration. Please keep in mind we have asked you to commit the next 48 hours to the workshop, so please, in the interests of providing an amazing product for the finale, keep together and stay focussed on the end goal – we need you all!

4. Registration: Gourmet Stay Hotel, Monday 27 August, 6.00 – 8.30pm

Registration will be on Monday 27 August by 8.30pm at the Gourmet Stay Hotel, 25 Frederick Street (see map below). We would like all participants, including those from Wellington, to come and see us at Gourmet Stay to collect your workshop materials and ID lanyards and hear the team talk at 8.30 – 9.30 pm. Please note that dinner is not provided on Monday night, although there is a light supper, tea and toast.

5. Team Talk: Gourmet Stay Hotel, Monday 27 August, 8.30 - 9.30pm

This is an opportunity to meet the facilitators, get to know other people in your working group, and to meet the rest of the McGuinness Institute team.  The team talk is really important, so don’t miss it (If your plane is delayed we will wait).

6. Breakfast and other food

• A continental breakfast will be served at the Gourmet Stay Hotel on Tuesday and Wednesday morning for all 40 participants and facilitators from 6.30am. Gourmet Stay are wonderful hosts and their food is particularly yummy! You can also collect a piece of fruit each morning on the way to Parliament.
• Lunch and dinner on Tuesday, and lunch on Wednesday will be provided at Parliament. There will be some snacks available on Wednesday night, but if you need anything more substantial you will have to find yourself some dinner after the finale.

7. Transport to and from Parliament

• All participants will be taken by buses each morning from the Gourmet Stay Hotel to Parliament. The first bus will leave at 7.15am, and the second at 7.40am. Wellingtonians, we will meet you at Parliament at the bottom of the stairs in the main reception (through security, turn left). Text Niki if you get lost.
• A bus will take you back to the accommodation on the Tuesday night at 10pm and Wednesday night at 9pm. If you miss the bus, please make your own way to the accommodation. It is about a 30 minute walk. If you do decide to walk, please walk in groups.

8. What you will need for Parliament

• Make sure you wear your ID lanyard and you bring your workshop materials each morning.
• Please note that on entering Parliament your bag may be searched – expect security similar to that at an airport.
• We would also like to remind you that as the event is being held in Parliament, you will be required to wear business attire during the workshop.
• Please also remember, the grounds of Parliament are smoke free.

9. Departing from Wellington Airport

On your return journey, as you are all leaving at different times during the day, we have decided it is best for you to find your own way to the airport. The airport bus leaves at regular intervals from Courtenay Place (approx cost $10.00). See the timetable and map on the metlink website. Please remember you will need to be at the airport at least 30 minutes before your flight departs. Your flights are not transferable, so sorry to say that if you miss your flight it will be at your cost.

10. Map of locations in Wellington

This map shows where all the key locations for the event. Zoom out and click on the EmpowerNZ balls for further information.

View EmpowerNZ: Locations in Wellington in a larger map

11. Map of participants

Below is a map showing where you will all be coming from. You can click on the icons to see who we have on board so far. (NB: This map is ‘unlisted’, meaning email addresses are not searchable and are only visible to those with a specific link to this page.)

View EmpowerNZ Participants in a larger map

12. Nation Dates (the book)

Although we said to everyone we would be posting you each a copy of our book Nation Dates, to ease our workload we have decided to instead give this to you at registration.

13. Finale invites for friends and family – Email us before midday Wednesday 22 August 2020 with only committed attendees.

If you have friends or family in the Wellington region who would be interested in attending the finale, you can email us their full name and email address. We will then RSVP on their behalf and email them a formal invitation which they need to bring with them on the night. Maximum 3 guests each.

14. Code of Conduct for the Workshop

[A] Rights and Responsibilities

• Everyone has equal rights.
• Everyone has the opportunity to speak, question and to be listened to and to have their ideas treated with respect.

[B] Privacy

• Everyone must treat private information with care, i.e. email addresses are to be treated as confidential and are only to be used for the purposes of the EmpowerNZ Workshop.
• To encourage openness and prescription-free, uninhibited discussion, the EmpowerNZ workshop participants will operate under the Chatham House Rule:
  “When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed”.

15. Questions and suggestions most welcome

If you have any questions or thoughts on how we could make the two-day workshop more productive and enjoyable, please let us know in the comment box below. We are all looking forward to meeting you.