One of the country's most respected legal experts on the Treaty of Waitangi has died.
Dr Moana Jackson has been described as a humble yet forceful advocate for change who urged all New Zealanders to imagine a better Aotearoa.
Justice Sir Joe Williams said Jackson was a "quiet revolutionary" and "quiet radical" who was well-regarded at home and around the world.
"He was a man who was both an intellectual and grounded at the same time, who had clear views about the way New Zealand should develop and the way New Zealand law should be," Sir Joe said.
In the late 1980s, Jackson authored He Whaipaanga Hou which challenged the status quo for Māori in the criminal justice system. He was also a strong advocate for constitutional change.
"It's been a long slow journey for him but the important things that he's been an advocate of and for have become important things in political and legal debate today," Sir Joe said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also acknowledged his contributions today.
"Ultimately, realising his legacy I think will come down to all of us, all of us recognising that we can do things differently in New Zealand," Ardern said.
Words like decolonisation, mana motuhake, and the prominence of tikanga Māori within the law were at the forefront for Jackson.
Professor Emeritus Jane Kelsey of the University of Auckland worked alongside him on various issues.
"He was a visionary...and he created the space, the intellectual space and the political space, to think and speak and do differently and demand real transformation," she said.
Māori lawyer and justice advocate Julia Whaipooti also reflected on his contributions.
"He created a platform for us to stand on his shoulders and that we should be able to speak freely and unapologetically to force the changes that he has laid for us," Whaipooti said.
For Māori on the protest frontlines, Jackson also helped provide the intellectual arguments.
"It was good ammunition and he was able to provide us with that in a more approachable manner," Tame Iti said.
Jackson was also recognised as a global authority on indigenous rights including at the United Nations.
His unwavering commitment on these issues, however, was not always easy. Those who knew him particularly reflect on the heightened tensions of the 80s.
"At that time in his life he was receiving death threats, he was receiving direct threats to his whānau, back in the time when it wasn't on keyboard. It was delivered to his house," Whaipooti said.
"It was a lonely, lonely road, and one of the traits of Moana that was so powerful was that he never rose to the bait," Kelsey said.
Jackson is survived by his son and grandchildren.
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