The Waitangi Tribunal has recommended the Crown immediately halt the advancement of the Regulatory Standards Bill to allow for meaningful consultation with Māori.
The recommendation comes from the Tribunal’s interim report into the bill, which follows a one-day urgent hearing earlier this week.
Māori rights group Toitū te Tiriti have warned the introduction of the bill into law would diminish the Crown’s obligations to the Treaty of Waitangi.
Around 18,000 people signed their online petition.
The bill is part of the National and ACT party’s coalition agreement to pass a Regulatory Standards Act to ‘improve the quality of regulation’ and introduce principles of ‘good law-making’ that future and past legislation would need to be measured against.
In its report the Tribunal said the Crown accepted that the bill was created with no occurred targeted engagement, which is a violation of it’s partnership obligations to consult with Māori in good faith.
That is despite it being “inherently relevant” to Māori, as it would change the way Parliament makes laws, the report said.
The report found if the Regulatory Standards Act were enacted without meaningful consultation with Māori, it would constitute a breach of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi — specifically the principles of partnership and active protection.
The Crown would also be in breach of Treaty principles if it were to introduce the bill to Parliament without more consultation with Māori.
Without a full draft of the proposed bill, or more information on how the legislative principles would be applied, The Tribunal could not say what prejudice would likely arise from the bill’s enactment in terms of changes to government law-making practice.
The Crown should meaningfully engage with Māori on whether the proposed legislation is necessary, what further exemptions in the bill may be required to protect Māori rights and interests, and the potential impact of the proposed ‘rule of law’ principle on government measures in place to pursue equitable outcomes for Māori, the report found.
Seymour: ‘Bill will help NZ get its mojo back’
In a statement, ACT leader David Seymour said the bill was ultimately about transparent lawmaking, less red tape and better lives.
“The Regulatory Standards Bill will help New Zealand get its mojo back. It requires politicians and officials to ask and answer certain questions before they place restrictions on citizens’ freedoms.
“The Tribunal’s main objection is that the Bill requires ‘equality before the law’, which is mentioned repeatedly in the document.
“What it doesn’t understand is that equality before the law is fundamental to a functioning democracy. We can address New Zealand’s problems without racial discrimination.”
The Waitangi Tribunal was not a parallel government elected by New Zealanders, even if it acted like it was, Seymour said.
“The Tribunal’s claims are incorrect. This law increases the transparency of bad lawmaking so New Zealanders face less red tape and regulation and can live better lives. There’s not a single point in their report that disagrees with this. As their report accepts, no Treaty settlements will ever be affected by the bill.”
“The Tribunal complains there was a lack of consultation with Māori. But consultation on the proposed Bill was open for nearly two months, with 23,000 submissions from the public, including 114 on behalf of iwi/hapū. And everyone, including Māori, will have another chance to submit at select committee.”
The Government has announced it will review the Waitangi Tribunal to refocus the “scope, purpose and nature” of the Tribunal’s inquiries back to its “original intent”.
‘Unbridled power to the detriment of the nation’ — Māori advocate
Māori health leader Lady Tureiti Moxon welcomed the 33-page report and said it warned of a serious constitutional threat to Māori rights and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“The Waitangi Tribunal has confirmed what many of us have been saying: that this coalition Government is using its unbridled power to the detriment of our nation.
“It has calculatingly sidelined Māori, purposely ignored its Treaty obligations, and is pushing forward with legislation that could undermine areas from health equity to tino rangatiratanga.”
Lady Moxon said the ACT’s focus on ‘equality before the law’ was a dangerous oversimplification that failed to account for the impacts of colonisation.
“Equality assumes a level playing field — but for Māori, the field has been tilted against us for generations. This Bill promotes a version of fairness that ignores our history, overlooks injustice, and threatens the very laws and policies designed to address those harms that currently exist.”
She said the government has treated Te Tiriti like an optional “nice-to-do”, not a foundational responsibility.
“That is unacceptable. Damage to the Crown-Māori relationship is already being felt, and it will only get worse if this Bill goes ahead in its current form.”
By RNZ‘S Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira
