Williams told Goldsmith he had emailed him but did not expect a reply.<\/p>\n
That email, dated December 2023, detailed his concerns about the now-defeated bill and its political context.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that the regrettable state of political comity in this country (and abroad) has lead [sic] to this unorthodox and disparately focused coalition,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoreover, I understand that there is a huge constituent of conservative New Zealanders who have a very real fear of some of the rhetoric of the \u2018far left\u2019 (and vice versa) and that it is foolish and in a sense undemocratic to ignore this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams, who is of M\u0101ori (Ng\u0101i Tahu, Ng\u0101i Tai) and P\u0101keh\u0101 descent, told Goldsmith he was not entirely opposed to needs-based structuring of certain public policies, as long as they conformed with Treaty principles.<\/p>\n
However, a referendum might not provide the democratic solution some assumed, Williams said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe both know a referendum is not the clean \u2018democracy in action\u2019 play that it is purported to be. To quote the 1986 Royal Commission on the Electoral System: \u2018In general, initiatives and referendums are blunt and crude devices [that] would blur the lines of accountability and responsibility of governments.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI appeal to you as a respectable historian and treaty expert, who knows more than I do of its historical and current import, who knows well the name James Prendergast, to conscientiously investigate whether Act\u2019s Bill on Treaty Principles<\/a> is really a healthy and productive step for this country.\u201d<\/p>\n Goldsmith\u2019s reply, sent on the night of the awards, apologised for not responding.<\/p>\n \u201cHave searched my email and found your letter, which was sadly lost in the multitude I received at the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He congratulated Williams on the award, but noted, \u201cmusic, of course, is not owned by any one end of the political spectrum, even though it seemed that way tonight\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d be very happy to meet up and talk through some of the things you raised, any time,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n The Treaty Principles Bill was defeated at its second reading<\/a> in April.<\/p>\n