Forging Treaty Hope: the application and relevance of narrative ideas and practices in developing Treaty-based policy and practice.

The Treaty of Waitangi is widely recognized as the founding document of New Zealand. While the Treaty has constitutional and legal status, its meaning and application in contemporary New Zealand society is the source of great debate. This paper unmasks the increasingly dominant and problem-saturated narrative of Treaty Fatigue circulating in public discourses in New Zealand and proposes an alternate inspiring narrative of Treaty Hope. In so doing, the paper examines the application and relevance of narrative ideas and practices in forging a preference for Treaty Hope and in fostering Treaty-based policies and practices in the work of government, and considers how community development practitioners in post-colonial settings may engage with New Zealand's experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]