Treaty Principles Bill

The Treaty Principles Bill is a proposed bill by ACT New Zealand. It aims to redefine the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. As part of its coalition agreement with ACT, the incumbent National Party doesn't support a referendum on the issue but has agreed to support the the legislation up to the select committee level.

Background

In March 2022, the libertarian ACT Party announced that it would introduce a new law defining the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi if elected into government following the 2023 election. This law would only come into effect following a referendum on Māori co-governance arrangements that would be held at the 2026 general election. The party's leader David Seymour also called for a referendum on co-governance as a condition for entering into coalition with any future government led by centre-right National Party. Seymour argued that the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi was not a partnership between the New Zealand Crown and Māori, and therefore co-governance arrangements were not a "necessary extension" of that. He also claimed that co-governance arrangements created resentment and division. ACT's proposed law and referendum would affect co-governance arrangements at several Crown Research Institutes, state-owned enterprises and healthcare providers such as Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority). However, Seymour indicated that the new law would preserve existing co-governance arrangements with the Waikato, Ngāi Tahu, Tūhoe and Whanganui iwi (tribes).

In response, Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith described ACT's proposed co-governance referendum and policies as being motivated by racism and reflecting a Pākehā unwillingness to share power. Similarly, Waikato leader Rahui Papa claimed that ACT's co-governance policies clashed with the second and third articles of the treaty which (he argued) guaranteed Māori participation in the social sector. In response, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reiterated the Labour Government's commitment to co-governance arrangements. Meanwhile, National Party leader Christopher Luxon refused to commit to a referendum on co-governance, but acknowledged that further clarity on co-governance was needed.

In October 2022, ACT released a discussion document entitled "Democracy or co-government?" which proposed a new Treaty Principles Act that would end the focus on partnership between Māori and the Crown and interpret "tino rangatiratanga" solely as property rights. By contrast, most scholars of the Māori language define "tino rangatiratanga" as the equivalent of "self-determination" in the English language. The proposed Treaty Principles Act does not mention Māori, the Crown, iwi (tribes), and hapū (subgroups) but refers only to "New Zealanders". ACT Party leader Seymour refused to identify whom his party had consulted when developing its co-governance and Treaty of Waitangi policies, particularly its redefinition of "tino rangatiratanga" as property rights. As part of ACT's "colour-blind" policies, its social-development spokesperson Karen Chhour advocated the abolition of Te Aka Whai Ora.

Coalition agreement and 2024 leak

Following the 2023 New Zealand general election, a National-led coalition government was formed with the support of the ACT and New Zealand First parties in late November 2023. As part of ACT's coalition agreement with the National Party, the parties agreed to introduce a Treaty Principles Bill based on existing ACT party policy and support it to a Parliamentary select committee. In addition, ACT dropped its election demand for a referendum on the Treaty of Waitangi.

In January 2024, the Māori King Tūheitia Paki called for a national hui (meeting) on 20 January to unify Māori and discuss the potential impact of the Government's Treaty policies. On 15 January, Tūheitia raised the matter of the Bill during a private meeting with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka .

On 19 January 2024, a Ministry of Justice memo on the proposed Treaty Principles legislation was leak. The proposed bill had three principles: that the New Zealand Government has the right to govern all New Zealanders; the New Zealand Government will honour all New Zealanders in the chieftainship of their land and all their property; and that all New Zealanders are equal under the law with the same rights and duties. The Ministry's paper expressed concerns that the proposed law would conflict with the rights and interests of Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi, that the Crown was trying to define Treaty principles without consulting with Māori, that the Bill breached international agreements such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and that it infringed on the Māori right to self determination.

The leak came on the eve of King Tūheitia's national hui on 20 January. In response, Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith confirmed that the Justice Ministry would investigate the leak and described the document as a draft that had not yet been considered by Cabinet. In addition Seymour, who had promoted the legislation, accused the Ministry of being part of a bureaucracy that was "resistant to change." Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer used the leak to rally opposition against the Government's proposed constitutional changes and accused Seymour of seeking to undermine Māori rights enshrined in the Treaty.

Draft release

On 7 February 2024, ACT embarked on a public information campaign to promote the Treaty Principles Bill. This campaign includes the creation of a new website called "treaty.nz," which has a Questions and Answers section outlining the party's approach to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and a video featuring Seymour. Seymour also contested claims that the opposition was trying to rewrite or abolish the Treaty of Waitangi. The public information campaign also came after a leaked Justice Ministry memo claimed that the proposed bill clashed with the text of the Treaty.

ACT's proposed Treaty Principles Bill consists of three articles, It sets out three articles,

Article 1

Māori: kawanatanga katoa o o ratou whenua

The New Zealand Government has the right to govern all New Zealanders

Article 2

Māori: ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani te tino rangatiratanga o o ratou whenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa

The New Zealand Government will honour all New Zealanders in the chieftainship of their land and all their property

Article 3

Māori: a ratou nga tikanga katoa rite tahi

All New Zealanders are equal under the law with the same rights and duties