The Prime Minister can be candid to a fault on occasions. He did not need to point out on Monday that the Government could ignore whatever the Waitangi Tribunal might say about the partial sale of power companies just as the tribunal was about to begin hearings on the subject that day. It is well known the tribunal's conclusions are non-binding, but it deserves more respect.
Mr Key, when asked the question, could as easily have said the Government was confident its plans would stand up to scrutiny under legal interpretations of the Treaty. He had reason to be confident.
A few months ago he agreed at the insistence of the Maori Party that the partially privatised companies would continue to be subject to section 9 of the State-owned Enterprises Act that says they must not act in a manner inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
That would seem to safeguard any customary or Treaty rights to the use of land, water or other resources that have also been available for electricity generation. Those rights will apply regardless of who owns the generating assets, which does not include ownership of the water.
The case brought to the tribunal by the Maori Council this week seems to assert not only a Treaty right to the water and riverbeds used by a hydro power plant, but also a right to keep the plant wholly in public ownership. The tribunal may be hard to convince on both counts, particularly the second.