Sir John Key got it right when he told the recent National Party conference we need to "take the temperature down" on race relations. But that is not to say that the critical issues around at present should be swept under the carpet or ignored altogether.

In an open society as we profess to be, the right to hold different opinions should be paramount. There should also be the capacity to debate those differing viewpoints, on their merits, without rancour or bitterness. But sadly, that is rarely the case.

The current debate about the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi is a good example. Debate about the application of the Treaty and the principles which underpin it has been going on since it was signed 184 years ago. ACT’s proposed Treaty Principles Bill is but the latest in a long of moves attempting to define the contemporary relevance of our founding document. And, with every other party in Parliament now pledging to vote against ACT’s Bill, it is doomed to fail.

But despite that near inevitable outcome, this obviously political stunt is being accorded a measure of credibility it does not deserve. What is becoming more worrying is the amount of unnecessary heat the argument around this dead-duck policy is generating, on both sides. Tolerance and perspective are quickly giving way to sensational, unfounded accusations. And with it, the very right to hold and promote diverse views is being challenged.

Left unchecked, such bitter debates cause tensions which can lead to extreme political outcomes. It is no coincidence that the rise of far-right politicians across Europe, from Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, Vicktor Orban’s Fidesz Party in Hungary, and most recently the neo-Nazi Alternative für Deutschland (AFD) in the eastern German state of Thuringia are in large part due to the wave of Islamophobia that has swept across Europe in recent years. New Zealand is not yet as polarised a society as those countries, but the risk is that the two xenophobic parties currently in Parliament, alongside more extreme fringe groups outside, could exploit a deterioration in race relations here in just the same way, to the detriment of our overall social cohesion.

Here is where Key’s warning to the National Party conference delegates (and also by extension to the country as a whole) a few weeks ago assumes its true relevance. He was not suggesting that we should shy away from debating difficult and controversial issues, but that we should be careful as we do so not to inflame further already tense situations.

I had alluded to the same point in a column earlier this year where I argued debate around the Treaty of Waitangi and its place in today’s society should be both ordered and reasoned, and not allowed to degenerate into seriously racially divisive acrimony. I suggested there were two people who had critical roles to play to ensure this did not happen

The first was the Prime Minister, by virtue of his position as the head of the government whose policies are at the heart of much of the current controversies. The other was Kingi Tūheitia, following his conciliatory remarks at the national hui he had called together earlier in the year, and reinforced by his speech at the Koroneihana, just days before his recent death.   

It has been noteworthy that many of the tributes paid subsequently to Kingi Tūheitia have hailed his unifying approach as a hallmark of his leadership. The Prime Minister also clearly acknowledged the late Kingi’s role in seeking to bring people together. While it is too early to know the stance of the new Kuīni, Ngā Wai hono i te pō, hopes are high within the Kingitanga and elsewhere that she will maintain the direction and approach of her father.

New Zealand today is a heterogeneous nation of many differing strands, built on a strong bicultural tradition. As Kingi Tūheitia said just last week, we are nevertheless all paddling in the same waka. However, there will always be differing perspectives on the issues of the day, and how to resolve them. But they should not be seen as threats to our social fabric. Rather, they should be welcomed for the opportunities they provide to help us better define who we are and what it means to be a New Zealander today.

In the wake of the sentiments expressed at Kingi Tūheitia’s tangi, and the goodwill his reign engendered, the Prime Minister and the new Kuīni, Ngā Wai hono i te pō are now well-placed to work together to guide and shape that way ahead, if both are of a mind to.