Changing attitudes: What if refugee lawyers and Maori wrote New Zealand's asylum seeker and refugee policy?

Refugee policy and practice operate both in a broad context of values, attitudes and beliefs and through the specifics of practical application to individuals. This paper argues that at the contextual level, current negative attitudes could be mitigated by adoption of the Maori values of manaakitanga to create a more hospitable reception for asylum seekers. On the level of individual encounters with New Zealand law and policy in action, I propose that refugee lawyers' intimate knowledge of asylum seeker needs and experiences could be deployed to enhance protection for the human rights of those who seek refugee status in Aotearoa.