Latest news with #TreatyofWaitangiAct1975
The Spinoff
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Spinoff
A quick guide to the who, how and why of the Waitangi Tribunal review
National's coalition agreement with NZ First promised the Waitangi Tribunal would be 'refocused', and now the government has announced a review. Why are we doing this, and who's leading the mahi? At the deadest dead point of the weekly news cycle, a Friday afternoon, Māori development minister Tama Potaka announced a review of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, which established the Waitangi Tribunal. The review, he said, would ensure the tribunal 'continues to effectively meet the intent of the legislation' and 'remains focused, relevant, effective and fit for purpose not just for today, but for the generations to come'. Potaka's press release was markedly neutral in tone, but did reference a commitment in National's coalition agreement with NZ First 'to refocus the scope, purpose, and nature of the Tribunal's inquiries back to its original intent'. Coalition partner and Act leader David Seymour took a different tone in sharing the news, posting on social media that the review would 'reign in' the 'increasingly activist' tribunal and 'put it in its place'. NZ First's Shane Jones, meanwhile, said the review meant it was time for the tribunal to 'take a statutory haircut' and stop 'straying off script, pursuing ideological fancies such as parallel sovereignty'. What does the Waitangi Tribunal even do? As Treaty scholar Carwyn Jones wrote for The Spinoff last year, 'The Waitangi Tribunal was established as a commission of inquiry by the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It inquires into claims of breaches of the principles of the Treaty, makes findings as to whether Crown actions are consistent with the principles of the Treaty and makes recommendations to the Crown for the practical application of those principles.' Its recommendations are not binding. For the first decade of its existence, the tribunal could only examine actions taken by the Crown (or continuing) after the act came into force, ie from 1975 onwards. Amendments to the act in 1985 allowed the tribunal to inquire into claims relating to Crown actions going back to the signing of te Tiriti in 1840. In October, the tribunal will mark its 50th birthday. More than 3,370 claims have been filed with the tribunal since its inception in 1975, with 130 of these completed, and around 2,160 are still to be processed, according to Te Ao Māori News. The coalition agreement talks about 'refocusing' the tribunal 'back to its original intent'. What does that mean? There hasn't been much clarity from those in government on that, but the biggest proponents of the review, such as Seymour and Shane Jones, have been particularly critical of the tribunal's inquiries into contemporary policies such as the repeal of section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. Academics like Carwyn Jones and historian Vincent O'Malley point out that before 1985, contemporary policies were the focus of the tribuna. 'The tribunal's original jurisdiction was specifically focused on contemporary law, policy and practice,' wrote Jones. Potaka has insisted the review will be carried out with ' no predetermined outcomes '. What are the arguments in support of reviewing the tribunal? Who else has called for one? During his Monday post-cabinet press conference, the prime minister said a review of the tribunal was needed in a 'post-settlement world'. 'Irrespective of where you sit and what your views are [of the tribunal], commentators on all sides would acknowledge that in a post-Treaty settlement world, it's quite right that we actually look to define what the role of the Waitangi Tribunal is or isn't,' he told reporters. 'That's a legitimate question that, as I've said from the beginning, is something we want to look at.' Meanwhile, Luxon's Labour counterpart Chris Hipkins said the review wouldn't be able to 'do right by the tribunal' as he believed the government itself had failed to understand its history. On Tuesday morning, Labour's Māori development spokesperson Willie Jackson said the tribunal review was another attempt at 'Māori bashing' by the government. The Greens have called it a 'disgrace' and Te Pāti Māori said the review was 'a deliberate and dangerous escalation in [the government's ongoing campaign to undermine Te Tiriti o Waitangi and silence tangata whenua'. The need for a new strategic direction was called for in the tribunal's 2023-2024 annual report, which set up an internal review panel. The panel identified three strategic goals (in order of importance): streamlining the urgent inquiry process, standardisation and innovation for kaupapa inquiries and addressing resourcing concerns. Former National MP and Treaty negotiations minister Chris Finlayson, who recently represented Ngāi Tahu in the High Court and Te Pāti Māori in the privileges committee, has supported a review, telling Te Ao Māori News one was needed to 'plot the next 50 years with confidence', and that the Crown had been a 'major problem for the durability of Treaty settlements'. How will the review work? An Independent Advisory Technical Group (ITAG), supported by Te Puni Kōkiri, will oversee the review, with engagement between the group and 'peak Māori and iwi entities, Treaty law experts, and current and former tribunal members' to begin in mid-2025, according to Potaka. Advice will be provided to ministers – including NZ First's Shane Jones, who has been critical of the tribunal – by September and legislative proposals are expected to be introduced before the end of the year. The Herald's Audrey Young has suggested this short timeframe means 'it's hard to see how it could be a comprehensive review'. The ITAG is tasked with deciding whether the 1975 Act 'provides clarity' around the tribunal's jurisdiction, how different claims are handled, and how this legislation aligns with other laws. Potaka said the review of the act would ensure the tribunal 'continues to effectively meet the intent of the legislation – considering claims relating to breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi'. Potaka told The Spinoff the ITAG's chair was already convening with the rest of the panel, and that further information on 'terms of reference' would be released in the coming days. Potaka said he had not spoken to Seymour since his comments on Friday, and was focusing on 'supporting the review'. So, who's on the review panel? Bruce Gray KC will chair the ITAG, and has told Lawnews the review would be approached with an open mind and 'no predetermined outcome'. 'I look forward to a review of the legislation, rather than the tribunal,' Gray said. 'Our review will reflect the views that we form on the way through.' Gray has represented the Anglican church in the abuse in state care inquiry, represented National MPs Anne Tolley and Paula Bennett in Winston Peters' 2021 High Court case over the leaking of his superannuation payments, handled insurance claims around the Christchurch earthquake and has extensive expertise in defamation, civil, criminal and trademark law. A fact sheet from Potaka's office noted Gray also has expertise in Māori development. Lawyer David Cochrane is a former member of the Waitangi Tribunal (2014-2021) and policy adviser for the Parliamentary Counsel, working for nine years across Robert Muldoon and David Lange-led governments. Minister Jones once described Cochrane as 'a paragon in the history of parliamentary drafting and who drafted many a piece of legislation'. Cochrane has experience in drafting Treaty policy and 'bridging legal and kaupapa Māori perspective', according to Potaka's office. He has worked for legal firms Chapman Tripp and Simpson Grierson, and currently runs Cochrane Advisory. Dion Tuuta (Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama, and Taranaki Iwi) began his career as a Waitangi Tribunal historian, before working as a Treaty negotiator for Ngāti Mutunga. He is currently the chief executive of Te Kotahitanga o Te Ātiawa Trust, and as the current acting chairperson of Te Ohu Kaimoana. Tuuta was recently involved in a High Court case that found the Crown guilty of breaching one of the oldest Treaty settlements by appropriating Māori fishing quota without compensation. Tuuta has been outspoken on climate change, Māori land rights, and post-settlement governance. Kararaina Calcott-Cribb currently works as the deputy chief executive within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's (DPMC) cyclone recovery unit. Calcott-Cribb has held a number of governmental roles – including deputy of Māori housing at the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development and director of the early learning task force at the Ministry of Education – and top jobs in te ao Māori, such as working as the chief executive officer of Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust. In her time at Te Kōhanga Reo, Calcott-Cribb helped progress the organisation's WAI 2336 claim, which alleged continuous Crown breaches against kōhanga reo over two decades. A bio from Potaka's office notes that Calcott-Cribb 'brings strong Treaty and implementation experience, with deep kaupapa Māori grounding and credibility across iwi and the public sector.' What's been happening with the tribunal lately, and what's ahead until the review comes through? The tribunal has just been getting on with its usual business: processing claims, reviewing the actions of the Crown and its legislation. Today, the commission will conduct an urgent hearing led by Toitū Te Tiriti (and supported by Lady Tureiti Moxon and Te Kōhao Health) into the Regulatory Standards Bill. In late January, a refresh of the tribunal's appointments by Potaka was met with criticism of a 'whitewash' from Te Pāti Māori (the process for tribunal appointments includes an expectation for an equal number Māori and Pākehā members, which the minister had met). One of the most notable appointments, Richard Prebble, left less than six months into his role over concerns that the treaty had become a 'socialist manifesto'.
The Spinoff
12-05-2025
- Business
- The Spinoff
Nobody is cutting through government spin like the Act Party
Whether it's pay equity or the Waitangi Tribunal review, the person most committed to combatting government PR is government minister David Seymour. Only 3.2% of The Spinoff's readership supports us financially. We need to grow that to 4% this year to keep creating the work you love. Sign up to be a member today. When National moved to put an end to 33 fair pay claims for low-income women, it was adamant the move wasn't about rescuing finance minister Nicola Willis's upcoming budget. Prime minister Chris Luxon seemed annoyed at the suggestion of monetary motivations in a press run last Tuesday. 'It's got nothing to do with the budget, this is about making sure we have a piece of legislation that is incredibly workable, and not as complex as it has been,' he said. Willis repeated the denial both in parliament and at a press standup alongside an honour guard of women. More credulous observers may have been taken in by these assurances. Listening to National's senior ministers, this wasn't a case of low-income women paying for general tax cuts and interest write-offs for landlords; it was just a surprise effort to clear up some administrative issues under urgency with no public feedback, weeks out from an uncomfortably tight budget. Unfortunately for National, its coalition partner Act was having none of that cynical government spin. Incoming deputy prime minister David Seymour was determined to pierce the PR puffery, assuring reporters Van Velden had absolutely bailed National out of having to spend money on stuff like fair wages for childcare workers and hospice nurses. 'I actually think that Brooke van Velden has saved the taxpayer billions,' he said. 'She's saved the budget for the government.' These Act Party corrections have become common. Media organisations like to say they can cut through spin like Aragorn's sword Andúril through orc flesh, but few of them demolish government messaging more brutally than the second-largest party in the government. Put out an anodyne press release or make a staid announcement, and Act will give it the Obama anger translator treatment. On Friday, Māori affairs minister Tama Potaka revealed plans to review the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and the Waitangi Tribunal. The move, in his words, was about taking a load off our Tribunal members after years of hard work. 'Given the progress of historical claims and settlements and concerns about the Tribunal's current workload, it is timely to review the legislation that determines how it undertakes its inquiries.' That sentence is almost boring enough to avoid adding to the anger over efforts to pare back Treaty redress. Potaka might have got away with it too, if it wasn't for those meddling libertarians. On his Facebook page, Seymour explained the true purpose of the review. 'We're reining in the activist Waitangi Tribunal,' he wrote. 'It's time to put the Tribunal in its place.' Act's spin-killing efforts are, if anything, ramping up. Its statement on the Waitangi Tribunal review marked the third time in a week it lobbed a truth bomb into the National caucus room. Luxon had spent the Friday prior denying Seymour's claim he oversees a 'bloated' ministerial lineup filled with 'meaningless titles'. Once again Act's claims were more convincing to the commentators. Former National minister Chris Finlayson took its side, saying ministerial baubles are given out to placate unimpressive talents in smaller coalition parties such as Act. Most of these contradictions stem from one foundational inconsistency. Back in January, Seymour claimed Act was wielding 'disproportionate' influence in government. 'If you look at these quarterly plans, often half the ideas come from the party that has only one sixth of the MPs in the government,' he said. Luxon disagreed, telling Morning Report he 'wouldn't describe it that way'. Their dispute gets to the heart of the government's narrative divergence. In Luxon's telling, we have a mainstream National administration deftly balancing its coalition partners' preoccupations with its own primary focus on the economy and cost of living. In Seymour's, an ideologically malleable major party is being dog-walked into a series of financially iffy and increasingly politically disastrous moves by a coalition partner that won roughly a fifth of its vote. It's up to you who to believe. Truth is hard to gauge at the best of times in the internet age. But in these situations, it's usually best practice to trust the guys with a history of telling it like it is.
Scoop
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Protect The Tribunal, Protect The Treaty: Oppose The Government's Review Of The Waitangi Tribunal
The Government's proposed review of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 is a clear attempt to undermine the Tribunal's independence and diminish Māori rangatiratanga, the PSA says. Janice Panoho, Kaihautū Māori of the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi, rejects Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka's claim that the review is intended to "refocus" the Tribunal to its original intent. "Māori and Treaty partners across the motu see this move for what it is: a political attempt to weaken one of the few institutions that holds the Crown accountable to its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi," Panoho says. "For nearly 50 years, the Waitangi Tribunal has played a vital role in advancing justice for Māori. It has provided a platform for Māori voices, upheld the mana of Te Tiriti, and made recommendations that have shaped the very foundations of the Māori-Crown relationship," Panoho says. "This review is not about efficiency or clarity, it is about control. It is a clear attempt to undermine the Tribunal's independence and diminish Māori rangatiratanga. "The proposal to limit the Tribunal's scope and reframe its inquiries according to a political agenda, as outlined in the coalition agreement between National and New Zealand First, is deeply concerning. Rather than strengthening the Tribunal, the review threatens to erase decades of progress toward honouring Te Tiriti and addressing the injustices faced by generations of whānau, hapū, and iwi. "The so called Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG), despite including a handful of Māori members, lacks transparency and accountability. It is not representative of the whānau, hapū, and iwi who have engaged with the Tribunal for decades. The rushed timeline for engagement and legislation adds to the concerns. "This review occurs at a time when Māori communities are already experiencing the impacts of cost-cutting measures across Te Arawhiti, Te Aka Whai Ora, and other kaupapa Māori initiatives. The cumulative effect is a sustained attack on Māori rights, institutions, and leadership. The PSA and Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina, which represents the PSA's 11,000 members who identify as Māori, strongly oppose the move and call on the Government to: Halt the review of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 immediately. Uphold the integrity and independence of the Waitangi Tribunal. Honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi in both word and action. Engage meaningfully with Māori, not after decisions are made, but before. "The future of the Waitangi Tribunal is not just a Māori issue, it is a matter of national integrity, justice, and honouring our founding covenant," Panoho says.
NZ Herald
11-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Listen live: PM Christopher Luxon speaks to Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking after policy announcements on boy racers and youth social media
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is set to speak this morning on Newstalk ZB after a busy weekend of policy announcements by the Government. Yesterday, the Government announced drivers who participate in street races will have their vehicles destroyed or forfeited in the majority of cases under new legislation. Luxon also indicated the Government is making work on restrictions to social media for New Zealanders under the age of 16 part of its official programme. Luxon will speak to Mike Hosking at 7.35am today. You can listen to the interview live from the link below. Listen: Christopher Luxon speaks to Mike Hosking. The boy racer legislation, expected to be introduced in Parliament in the middle of the year, includes establishing a presumptive sentence of vehicle destruction or forfeiture for those who flee police, for street racers, those in intimidating convoys and for owners who fail to identify offending drivers. Because the National Party proposed legislation to ban social media for those under 16 is a Member's Bill, it needs to be drawn from Parliament's ballot before proceeding. That means there is no guarantee politicians will end up debating it. Luxon previously said there had been an 'overwhelmingly positive response from mums and dads' that made it 'clear we need to progress options to restrict social media for under-16s'. Nationwide protests erupted on Friday in response to the Government's controversial pay equity law change. The Pay Equity Amendment Bill has passed through all stages in Parliament, after being rushed through under urgency. The legislation raises the threshold for proving work has been historically undervalued when making a pay equity claim. Opponents say it will make it harder for women in female-dominated industries to make a claim. The Government also confirmed a review of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, which established the Waitangi Tribunal, will begin shortly.
Otago Daily Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Review into Waitangi Tribunal
The government says it will launch a review into the Waitangi Tribunal to refocus the "scope, purpose and nature" of the Tribunal's inquiries back to its "original intent". The review is part of the coalition agreement between New Zealand First and National and will be lead by an Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG), supported by Te Puni Kōkiri. The Waitangi Tribunal was established in 1975 to investigate breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, originally it could only hear claims about current government actions but in 1985 Parliament allowed the Tribunal to investigate events dating back to 1840. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka said given the progress of historical claims and settlements and concerns around the Tribunal's workload, a review into the legislation that determines its inquiries was "timely". The Tribunal has accepted seven urgent inquiries into government policies since the coalition was elected. "Over the past 50 years, the Tribunal has made significant contributions to the Māori Crown relationship and informed the settlement of both historical and contemporary Treaty claims impacting generations of whānau across the country," Potaka said. "A review of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 will ensure the Tribunal continues to effectively meet the intent of the legislation - considering claims relating to breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi - and providing timely, well-reasoned findings." The ITAG will be chaired by legal expert Bruce Gray KC and include senior public servant Kararaina Calcott-Cribb, lawyer David Cochrane, and Māori leader Dion Tuuta and is tasked with looking at whether the whether the Act provides clarity around the Tribunal's jurisdiction, how different types of claims are managed, and how the legislation aligns with other legislation. "The ITAG will engage directly with peak Māori and Iwi entities, Treaty law experts, and current and former Tribunal members to ensure that the right voices and perspectives are reflected in the recommendations they provide to ministers at the end of their review," says Mr Potaka. "The review will ensure the Waitangi Tribunal remains focused, relevant, effective and fit for purpose not just for today, but for the generations to come." Potaka said. 'Increasingly activist' - Seymour welcomes review In a media release, Act leader David Seymour welcomed the review. "Act supports the completion of full and final historic Treaty settlements as a pragmatic way to resolve past injustices, but the Waitangi Tribunal has gone well beyond its brief and has become increasingly activist. "It's tried to become a source of authority in its own right and appears to regard itself as a parallel government that can intervene in the democratically elected government's policymaking process - like during the Treaty Principles Bill debate." He said it was time to put the Tribunal "in its place". Engagement will begin in mid-2025 and advice will be provided to ministers, including Shane Jones, by September. Proposals are intended to be introduced before the end of the year.
