ACT's call for a referendum on Māori co-governance has once again raised the question - can New Zealand have a debate about race and the Treaty without stirring up racial abuse?
Leader David Seymour says the government's current approach, without the necessary conversation, will just cause further division.
The Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa Packer says she's already seen a spike in abusive correspondence, which she puts down to ACTs recent statements.
A senior lecturer in politics at Auckland University Dr Lara Greaves told RNZ political reporter Anneke Smith, this kind of debate can embolden certain constituencies, and there should be a better way to protect all MPs.
