The Treaty Principles Bill was introduced to Parliament in November 2024. It is now being considered by the Justice Select Committee. Submissions to the committee are open until 7 January 2025. You can make a submission to the Select Committee here.
The Waikato Wellbeing Project has lodged a submission in opposition to the Bill and you can read our submission below.
We have also supported a joint submission from Community Waikato, Creative Waikato, Go Eco, Diversity Counselling NZ, Seed Waikato, and My Life My Voice.
Please feel free to use any of our submission material for your own submissions.
We oppose the bill because:
It undermines the foundational elements of Te Tiriti o Waitangi |Treaty of Waitangi and the established interpretative principles that have guided its application in modern governance.
It conflates universal human rights guaranteed under the Constitution Act 1986 and/or the Bill of Rights Act 1990 with specific rights afforded to Māori under the Te Tiriti o Waitangi |Treaty of Waitangi, creating unnecessary division and confusion.
It creates an interpretation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi |Treaty of Waitangi which sews the seeds of division- exactly the opposite of what the Bill’s architect says is intended.
In our submission, we note that the justification for the bill is the need for a national conversation about the constitutional role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi |Treaty of Waitangi and its principles in modern day New Zealand. That discussion has been happening for at least the last 50 years. The general arc of those discussions has been towards greater unity, reconciliation and wellbeing. The Bill appears to want to change direction and hasten the conclusion of that discussion through statute.
If there was a genuine intent to discuss the Treaty principles and their role, we have submitted that several non-legislative steps could have been taken:
a) Starting the discussion with an open mind
b) Beginning any Treaty discussion with the Treaty partner first
c) Referencing the known principles of the Treaty, instead of creating an appeal to ignorance
d) Supporting New Zealanders to have a foundational understanding of the background and basis for the Treaty and its principles (both matters agreed and contested), so the conversation was informed.
e) Given the absence of any steps towards (a)-(d), not proposing a referendum.
Given these issues, we believe the Bill cannot be remedied through further amendment and its ongoing existence creates unnecessary social unrest and division. Our submission requests the Justice Select Committee withdraws the Treaty Principles Bill from the legislative schedule.
