Treaty Principles Bill
The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, commonly known as the Treaty Principles Bill, was a government Bill that aimed to define the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and put them to a nationwide referendum for confirmation. The ACT New Zealand Party, who introduced this Bill, campaigned against the co-governance policies of the Sixth Labour Government and advocated a binding referendum on co-governance, claiming that the current principles distorted the original intent of the Treaty of Waitangi and created an inequality in peoples' rights. National-led coalition government partners National and New Zealand First did not support the bill past its first reading and referral to a select committee, and some legal critics argued the Bill sought to undermine Māori rights and disrupt established interpretations of the Treaty. On its second reading, which occurred on 10 April 2025, the Bill was voted down.
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi, including a Preamble and Three Articles in English and Māori, was signed in 1840 by Māori chiefs and representatives of the British Crown. Notably, 39 chiefs signed the English version of the Treaty, while over 500 signed the Māori version, which is referred to as Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Some words in the English treaty did not translate directly into the written Māori language of the time, and thus, the Māori text is not an exact translation of the English text.The most significant differences in the two versions of the Treaty particularly concern sovereignty, government, and governance in Articles 1 and 2. "Sovereignty" was translated as "kāwanatanga" which means 'governance' or 'government,' and many chiefs believed they were ceding the government of the country but maintaining the rights to manage their affairs. "Undisturbed possession of properties" was translated as "tino rangatiratanga" of "taonga katoa", This means 'chieftainship/full authority' over 'all treasured things'.
Aotearoa New Zealand is a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which emphasises the importance of using treaties and agreements in Indigenous languages. Despite not being incorporated into law, UNDRIP has begun to influence policy and judicial decisions in New Zealand. For example, the Declaration has been referenced in several decisions of the Supreme Court of New Zealand and extensively in findings by the Waitangi Tribunal. However, in November 2023, the National-led coalition government agreed not to recognise the Declaration as having any binding legal effect on New Zealand as part of a coalition agreement. This coalition government also agreed to stop all work on He Puapua, which is a government commissioned report on implementing the goals of UNDRIP in New Zealand.
Principles
In 1975, the New Zealand Parliament passed the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, which established the Waitangi Tribunal and introduced the phrase "the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi." The principles were not defined, as the tribunal was intended to interpret them and apply them based on the intentions of the treaty, though they have also been interpreted by the Courts and the Crown.Background
In March 2022, leader of the libertarian ACT Party David Seymour announced a policy of redefining the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in law during the next parliamentary term. The law would only come into effect following confirmation by a referendum on Māori co-governance that would be held at the 2026 general election. He said that agreeing to hold the referendum would be a condition for forming a government with the centre-right National Party. Seymour argued that the treaty was not a partnership between the New Zealand Crown and Māori, and therefore co-governance arrangements were not a "necessary extension" of it. He also claimed that co-governance created resentment. ACT's proposed law would affect co-governance arrangements at several Crown Research Institutes, state-owned enterprises and healthcare providers such as Te Aka Whai Ora. However, Seymour indicated that it would preserve existing co-governance arrangements with the Waikato, Ngāi Tahu, Tūhoe and Whanganui iwi.Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said ACT's proposals emboldened racism. Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith said they reflected a "Pākehā" unwillingness to share power. Waikato leader Rahui Papa claimed that they clashed with the second and third articles of the treaty, which guaranteed Māori participation in the social sector. In response, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reiterated the Labour Government's commitment to co-governance arrangements. 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 Treaty Principles Bill 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 Bill did not mention Māori, the Crown, iwi, and hapū, but referred only to "New Zealanders". 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.
ACT party member of parliament Rodney Hide had introduced a similar private bill in 2006, which was selected, debated, and rejected at that time.
Coalition agreement and 2024 leak
Following the 2023 general election, a National-led coalition government was formed with the support of the ACT and New Zealand First parties. As part of ACT's coalition agreement with National, the parties agreed to introduce a Treaty Principles Bill based on existing ACT policy. National and New Zealand First agreed to support the bill up to the Parliamentary select committee stage. In return, ACT dropped its demand for a referendum on the Treaty of Waitangi. the bill under public consultation had to be submitted to a binding public referendum.On 19 January 2024, a Ministry of Justice memo on the proposed bill was leaked. The memo claimed that the proposed bill clashed with the text of the Treaty. 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. Seymour claimed the memo was a "natural reaction" from a bureaucracy that had "presided over increasing division over these issues", but stated the Ministry of Justice was not biased in its advice.
The leak came on the eve of King Tūheitia's national hui on 20 January. 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 the Cabinet. Seymour accused the Ministry of being part of a bureaucracy that was "resistant to change." Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, co-leaders of Te Pāti Māori, used the leak to rally opposition against the proposed constitutional changes. Following the leak, staff from other government agencies who needed to look at Cabinet papers relating to the bill had to physically visit Ministry of Justice offices to look at hard copies to prevent leaks.
Release of draft
Following the leak, ACT released a draft of the proposed bill in February 2024. On 7 February 2024, they embarked on a public information campaign to promote it. The campaign included 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 government was trying to rewrite or abolish the Treaty of Waitangi.ACT's proposed Treaty Principles Bill consists of three articles:
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
The Treaty Principles Bill generated much controversy and drew criticism from Māori leaders and bodies, including the Waitangi Tribunal, the opposition parties Labour, Green, Te Pāti Māori, religious leaders and lawyers. The Waitangi Tribunal found that "the Crown had breached the Treaty principles of partnership and reciprocity, active protection, good government, equity, redress, and the article 2 guarantee of rangatiratanga."
Legislative history
Introduction
On 9 September 2024, a draft outline of the Treaty Principles Bill was tabled at a Cabinet meeting, with its basic outline being signed off. Seymour confirmed that it would mention hapū and iwi rights to tino rangatiratanga and property ownership in Article 2. Cabinet agreed for the following principles to be included in the bill:While Seymour expressed hope that the coalition parties would support the bill after its first reading, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon reiterated that the National Party would not support it beyond its first reading. New Zealand First also pledged not to support it beyond its first reading. The final version of the bill was to be considered by Cabinet again before its introduction to Parliament in November 2024. Cabinet also agreed that the bill would undergo a six-month-long select committee process, concluding in May 2025. On 5 November 2024, it was announced the bill's timetable was to introduce it to Parliament on 7 November, with the first reading debate advanced to the week of 11–15 November.