Latest news with #TaniaWaikato
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Fourth time lucky? ACT's regulatory standards law may finally pass, despite Treaty and legal doubts
By Carwyn Jones of A similar law has been proposed by the ACT Party four times, but this time the party's regulatory wishes may finally come true. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER With the ACT Party's Regulatory Standards Bill now before the Finance and Expenditure Committee, having passed its first reading in parliament last week, parallels with the now abandoned Treaty Principles Bill have already been drawn. Lawyer Tania Waikato, who led an urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim before the Bill was introduced, has dubbed it "the Treaty Principles Bill 2.0". The tribunal itself recommended the government "immediately halt [its] advancement". The reasons for the concern lie in the Bill's constitutional implications - which in turn would affect the place of te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi in the nation's legislative framework. Legal experts have warned of the consequences of the bill's broad reach, one arguing it aims to create a "regulatory constitution". Others have suggested the regulatory criteria set out in the bill are highly selective, reflecting a libertarian ideology rather than universally accepted standards of good lawmaking. Perhaps most strikingly, the Ministry for Regulation - itself an ACT Party initiative under the coalition agreement - views the bill as unnecessary because there are more efficient and effective ways of improving the quality of lawmaking. The primary impact of the bill would be to make it harder to enact laws that do not conform with its prescribed criteria. While not binding, in practice those criteria are intended to act as a legislative filter. The fact te Tiriti or its principles are missing from those criteria explains the Waitangi Tribunal's alarm. This is the fourth time since 2006 a similar law has been proposed by the ACT party during different governments. Each version has failed to progress once before parliament. This time, however, a commitment in the coalition agreement between ACT, National and NZ First suggests the Bill could eventually become law - although NZ First leader Winston Peters has signalled his party wants changes to what he calls a "work in progress". The bill in its current form sets out criteria for assessing legislation under the following categories: the rule of law; liberties; taxes, fees and levies; role of the courts; and good lawmaking. All government Bills would include a statement of consistency with the prescribed criteria, with reasons given for any inconsistencies. Government agencies would need to undertake regular reviews for consistency of the legislation they administer. A regulatory standards board would be established to inquire into the consistency of existing legislation and legislation before parliament. The criteria themselves prioritise some rights while overlooking others completely. As well as te Tiriti o Waitangi being conspicuously absent, so are rights recognised in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. Currently, both the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and the Bill of Rights Act feature prominently in the existing legislative design guidelines administered by parliament's Legislation Design and Advisory Committee. Those guidelines also cover most of the other criteria selected for the Regulatory Standards Bill. But the Bill's emphasis on the protection of property rights has been criticised for potentially circumventing those existing guidelines. For example, Greenpeace has argued this could interfere with implementing effective environmental protections. Some of these issues were raised in the urgently convened Waitangi Tribunal hearing on 14 May. Claimants were concerned about the lack of consultation with Māori and that the bill's criteria would be used to override te Tiriti rights and block measures designed to promote equity. The tribunal's interim report on 16 May found the Crown had breached the Treaty principles of partnership and active protection of Māori in its development of the bill. Proceeding without meaningful consultation with Māori would be a further breach of those principles, according to the tribunal. However, a full draft of the Bill was not available at the time of the hearing. The tribunal noted, in the absence of a draft Bill, that it was unable to determine the precise prejudice Māori would suffer if the Bill became law. The tribunal also saw the Bill as constitutionally significant. While the Bill's effects may be uncertain, the tribunal found, they "will undoubtedly be felt in the law-making and policy space, are constitutional in nature, and inherently relevant to Māori". According to the tribunal, the Crown had an obligation to engage in targeted consultation with Māori, but it did not do so. That obligation was heightened by the "reasonable concerns" raised by Māori about how the bill might affect the Crown's ability to uphold its Treaty obligations. These concerns also featured heavily in submissions responding to the initial discussion document during the consultation process - although questions remain about how many submissions were actually read and assessed. Despite the tribunal's recommendation that the bill's progress be stopped to allow for meaningful engagement with Māori, Cabinet approved it on 19 May, it was introduced to parliament the same day and debated under urgency on May 23. Submissions to the select committee close on June 23, and many of these concerns will inevitably be aired again. But depending on the committee's recommendations, and if NZ First supports a revised draft, ACT's regulatory wishes may finally come true. * Carwyn Jones is a Honorary Adjunct Professor, Te Kawa a Māui - School of Māori Studies, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington This story was originally published on The Conversation .
Scoop
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
18,000 Register Support For Tribunal Claim Against Regulatory Standards Bill
Toit Te Tiriti, the group behind last year's Hkoi, is leading the claim over the Regulatory Standards Bill. The number of claimants registering support for an urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim into the Regulatory Standards Bill has surged to more than 18,000. Toitū Te Tiriti, the group behind last year's Hīkoi, led the claim and launched a social media campaign just before Waitangi Day this year calling on people to show their support and register as claimants. Claimant lawyer Tania Waikato presented submissions to the Tribunal on Wednesday morning and began by highlighting the growing number of claimants. 'There is 13,580 claimants of Māori descent in the claimant group, 3,599 persons of non-Māori descent, and the total registered in support of the claim is 17, 279 which has just ticked over to 18,236 as of this morning,' Waikato said. Waikato told the Tribunal the bill would alter the constitutional arrangement between the Crown and Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi 'by stealth and without the consent of Māori as treaty partner'. She said the consultation process on the Regulatory Standards bill was fundamentally flawed and labelled it as 'defective, deceptive and inconsistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Tiriti principles'. 'The impact and significance of these breaches is as devastating as the treaty principles bill, if it had been passed, with the key difference being that the crown has already committed the Regulatory Standards Bill will become law.' Act leader David Seymour announced the bill would be brought before Cabinet next week and presented to the House. Seymour disputes the concern raised and says the bill will improve the quality of regulation by codifying principles of good regulatory practice. Crown lawyers are due to present their evidence this evening.
RNZ News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Regulatory Standards Bill will lead to 'inappropriate, dangerous' powers, claimants say
Māori lawyer Annette Sykes says the Crown has not provided a brief of evidence to the Tribunal over the Bill. Photo: RNZ / Patrice Allen Claimants in an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing say the ACT Party's Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB) is a more aggressive and stealthier version of the Treaty Principles Bill. Claimant lawyers presented their evidence to the Tribunal on Wednesday in a tight, online-only hearing that had to pushed forward by three weeks. Māori rights group Toitū te Tiriti has been campaigning on social media to raise awareness about the bill, warning its introduction into the law would diminish the Crown's obligations to the Treaty of Waitangi and asking for people to join their claim to the Tribunal. Māori lawyer Tania Waikato, who represents the group, told the Tribunal the bill would make it impossible for legislation adhering to the Treaty to be accepted by the government. "They are setting up a framework which creates, for all future legislation plus all existing legislation, [means] they will fail every time. You'll have a proposition where the minister has to explain the Treaty provision - they have to explain why." Waikato said the bill handed too much power to the Ministry of Regulation and the proposed Regulatory Standards Board. "The constitutional and wide-ranging nature of the RSB and the suite of powers proposed to be granted to the minister, the ministerially appointed Regulatory Standards Board and the ministry are inappropriate, dangerous, and raise sincere questions about constitutional overreach," Waikato said. The hearing into the bill joins a long list of urgent inquiries facilitated by the Tribunal since the coalition government came into power. Te Roopu Waiora lawyer Tom Bennion said submitters on the bill felt uncertain about what the principles of the bill were. "We find all but one of the principles - the one about taxing I think - they state from the Crown Law Office, from the legislative design committee and from submitters generally. Great uncertainty, major uncertainty," Bennion said. The hearing was originally for 6 June but had to be pushed forward, meaning only the claimant's lawyers were able to provide evidence. The bill is set to be introduced to Parliament on 19 May, meaning the Tribunal will lose its jurisdiction to scrutinise it. It meant the Tribunal had to cut the usual proceedings down to one day, facilitate it online, and restrict evidence submission to claimants lawyers only. Māori lawyer Annette Sykes said it was a reoccurring issue. "One of the key things I think we believe that the Tribunal has to grapple is the way that the Crown has not provided a brief of evidence to the Tribunal." Sykes said the 6 June date was dismissed by cabinet. ACT Party leader David Seymour said many of the arguments raised by opponents to the bill were similar some raised when it a version of it was put forward 15 years ago. Seymour said putting a reference to the Treaty into the bill would undermine one of its core principles, which was equal rights for all under the law. "The bill says that all New Zealanders have a right to live under a government that asks and answers the right questions before it regulates their property rights." "It's not obvious how introducing the Treaty into that would help, it certainly wouldn't clarify it. If anything, it would further confuse it," Seymour said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
18,000 Register Support For Tribunal Claim Against Regulatory Standards Bill
The number of claimants registering support for an urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim into the Regulatory Standards Bill has surged to more than 18,000. Toitū Te Tiriti, the group behind last year's Hīkoi, led the claim and launched a social media campaign just before Waitangi Day this year calling on people to show their support and register as claimants. Claimant lawyer Tania Waikato presented submissions to the Tribunal on Wednesday morning and began by highlighting the growing number of claimants. "There is 13,580 claimants of Māori descent in the claimant group, 3,599 persons of non-Māori descent, and the total registered in support of the claim is 17, 279 which has just ticked over to 18,236 as of this morning," Waikato said. Waikato told the Tribunal the bill would alter the constitutional arrangement between the Crown and Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi "by stealth and without the consent of Māori as treaty partner". She said the consultation process on the Regulatory Standards bill was fundamentally flawed and labelled it as "defective, deceptive and inconsistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Tiriti principles". "The impact and significance of these breaches is as devastating as the treaty principles bill, if it had been passed, with the key difference being that the crown has already committed the Regulatory Standards Bill will become law." Act leader David Seymour announced the bill would be brought before Cabinet next week and presented to the House. Seymour disputes the concern raised and says the bill will improve the quality of regulation by codifying principles of good regulatory practice. Crown lawyers are due to present their evidence this evening.
RNZ News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
18,000 register support for Tribunal claim against Regulatory Standards Bill
Act leader David Seymour announced the bill would be brought before Cabinet next week. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The number of claimants registering support for an urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim into the Regulatory Standards Bill has surged to more than 18,000. Toitū Te Tiriti, the group behind last year's Hīkoi, led the claim and launched a social media campaign just before Waitangi Day this year calling on people to show their support and register as claimants. Claimant lawyer Tania Waikato presented submissions to the Tribunal on Wednesday morning and began by highlighting the growing number of claimants. "There is 13,580 claimants of Māori descent in the claimant group, 3,599 persons of non-Māori descent, and the total registered in support of the claim is 17, 279 which has just ticked over to 18,236 as of this morning," Waikato said. Waikato told the Tribunal the bill would alter the constitutional arrangement between the Crown and Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi "by stealth and without the consent of Māori as treaty partner". She said the consultation process on the Regulatory Standards bill was fundamentally flawed and labelled it as "defective, deceptive and inconsistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Tiriti principles". "The impact and significance of these breaches is as devastating as the treaty principles bill, if it had been passed, with the key difference being that the crown has already committed the Regulatory Standards Bill will become law." Act leader David Seymour announced the bill would be brought before Cabinet next week and presented to the House. Seymour disputes the concern raised and says the bill will improve the quality of regulation by codifying principles of good regulatory practice. Crown lawyers are due to present their evidence this evening. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
