Submission on the Treaty Principles Bill

Share why you honouring Te Tiriti is important to you

In this section we strongly recommend drawing on your own experiences. There is no right or wrong way to structure your answer. The key thing is to make the submission uniquely yours. Some ideas to get you started:

• As a non-Māori / migrant / descendant of settlers from [location], my place in Aotearoa is granted by virtue of the Treaty - it gives me a place to belong in this land.
• Te Tiriti is an inclusive vision for this country, a foundation for our unique democracy where everyone has a way to belong; where the rights of Māori communities to self-govern are upheld while making room at the table for others; and everyone’s unique contribution is honoured. Within this relationship, there is a space in between for sharing decision-making on issues that matter to all of us.
• Protecting the integrity of the Treaty is important for all of us, Māori and non-Māori.
• I care about this as a Christian because God calls us to honour our promises, and so we feel the need to speak up for Te Tiriti at this moment.
• The church helped broker, translate and promote the Treaty among Māori leaders. Because of this, many Christians view the Treaty as a sacred covenant.
• Those who’ve made a home here through the treaty haven’t always understood or lived up to those commitments, including the Church, and it’s brought serious imbalance between treaty partners.
• Respecting Te Tiriti is a win-win for everyone - it provides for a nation where we take the best possible care for each other and the land, and value the unique strengths and knowledge that we all bring. We can create a future that brings to life the hopes all of our ancestors had when they signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

State one or two reasons why you are concerned about the Treaty Principles Bill.

That could include:

• Te Tiriti is a partnership, a sacred bond between two peoples, where we are committed to ensuring the best for each other. By contrast, the Treaty Principles Bill is being driven by the Crown, without the input or support of te iwi Māori. One party to a Treaty cannot change the terms on their own.
• The proposed Treaty Principles do not align with the original Te Tiriti o Waitangi or the existing principles that have come through decades of experience navigating Te Tiriti as a country.
  • The Treaty Principles Bill would bind the courts and government to Principles that come from a flawed interpretation that the Waitangi Tribunal has said “distorts the text of Te Tiriti”.
  • The Treaty protected Māori authority (tino rangatiratanga) over the things of importance to Māori; lands, language, and everything we treasure, and non-Māori have the ability to have a governance system (kawanatanga) that works for and reflects their diverse people. By contrast, Principle 2 in the Treaty Principles Bill would erase tino rangatiratanga in law and reduce the rights of iwi and hapū to only those outlined in legislation or Treaty settlements. This ignores Māori self-determination which is enduring.
  • By rejecting 40 years of case law on the Treaty Principles, the Bill would create huge uncertainty and result in costly and time-consuming litigation for all involved.
  • Even if the Bill doesn’t change the wording of the original Te Tiriti o Waitangi, changing the Principles will impact how it is interpreted in law, which has the same effect.
• No problem has been identified that would be solved by the Bill - officials advised that policy objectives are better achieved by status quo.