Intersecting discourses: closing the gaps, social justice and the Treaty of Waitangi

Louise Humpage, Augie Fleras

Public policies are neither neutral nor static entities. Analysis reveals that the three arguments offered in support of the Closing the Gaps strategy – namely, “social justice ”, Treaty of Waitangi and social cohesion – stem from distinct social justice discourses.

This paper demonstrates how the interplay of these intersecting rationales is fraught with tension, ambiguity and contradiction. In particular, it is argued that a distributive “social justice” discourse is inconsistent with the recognitive justice demands of Māori as tangata whenua. The existence of discourses that contradict or modify each other reveals how social policies are continually constituted and reconstituted in different contexts. The tension between these intersecting discourses is also shown to correspond with a comparable dynamic involving the Treaty of Waitangi.

Finally, the paper contends that the predominantly accommodative stance of the Closing the Gaps policy may well have the intent or effect of de-politicising a rights-driven discourse that challenges the foundational principles of Māori-Crown relations.