1 ALTA Conference, University of Waikato, July 2005. THE RULE OF LAW, BICULTURALISM AND MULTICULTURALISM Justice Durie Introduction I do not regard the policies for bicultural or multicultural development as mutually exclusive. I think they address different things.  Biculturalism is about the relationship between the state’s founding cultures, where there is more than one.  Multiculturalism is about the acceptance of cultural difference generally.    Both policies may be seen to point to the need for a new legal framework to define the relationship between the state and its constituent peoples.  I suggest that the framework is already under construction although the design is not yet clear.  For thoughts about the design I think one could do no better than to read Will Kymlicka but at some risk I will mix in perspectives of my own.¹   Mostly I seek a perspective that considers the development of the rule of law in light of social changes since Dicey’s lectures were published in 1885.   New perspectives As a phrase, the rule of law captures some of our most treasured visions of democracy, equality and liberty.  Government must not be capricious but must act                                                  1   Kymlicka  Multicultural  Citizenship:  A    Liberal  Theory  of  Minority  Rights  Clarendon Press,  Oxford,  1995.  I  have  also  considered  Bartley  and  Spoonley  Constructing  a Workable Multiculturalism in a Bicultural Society  in Belgrave, Kawharu and Williams (eds)  Waitangi  Revisited:  Perspectives  on  the  Treaty  of  Waitangi  Oxford  University Press, South Melbourne, Vic 2005; Elias, Rt Hon Dame Sian GNZM Sovereignty in the 21^st Century:  Another Spin on the Merry-go-round 2003 14 PLR 148 and Idleman, Scott C  Multiculturalism  and  the  Future  of  Tribal  Sovereignty  35  Colum.  Human  Rights L. Rev. 589.  Summer 2004.