The Nullity
Audit.

A close audit of the 1877 judgment: what Prendergast said, what the case actually concerned, and why the reasoning about Māori political capacity is different from the modern question of whether sovereignty was ceded.

The central constitutional audit: Britain said it needed consent, the Tribunal found the February 1840 Te Raki signatories did not cede law-making authority, and the Crown later asserted sovereignty by proclamation.

The Crown’s own stated acquisition theory matters: sovereignty over the North Island was proclaimed on the basis of cession through the Treaty, while the southern islands were claimed by right of discovery.

A Royal Charter made New Zealand a separate Crown colony and vested governmental machinery in a Governor, but the sequence matters: Hobson had already proclaimed sovereignty months earlier.

This part separates historical consent from later effectiveness: a state may become institutionally dominant and internationally recognised even where the original acquisition theory remains disputed.

The final audit separates the current municipal-law position from the unresolved historical source question: courts recognise the present constitutional order while modern law rejects Wi Parata’s denial of Māori customary law.

A practical audit of the specific places rangatiratanga has legal effect now: Māori land control, tikanga, customary marine rights, Treaty clauses, representation jurisdiction and bespoke governance statutes.

A source-by-source audit of rangatira, hapū, iwi bodies, Māori Trust Boards, settlement representatives, PSGEs and Māori MPs: who can bind whom, for what purpose, and under what instrument?

A statutory mandate audit of the 1932 deed, the representative positions, the “seven seats” claim, later amendments and whether any instrument transfers constitutional authority into the Board.