National Iwi Chairs Forum calls for halt to proposed Waitangi Treaty clause changes

The National Iwi Chairs Forum (NICF) says the government has breached its Waitangi Treaty obligations to consult with Māori in proceeding with legislation that would weaken treaty clauses across a range of laws.

In a joint letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones, the forum said it opposed "in the strongest possible terms, both the proposed legislative amendments and the process which has been followed to date".

"The failure to engage with iwi and hapū is a direct breach of the crown's Te Tiriti obligations, the very matter this process is supposedly seeking to clarify," the letter read.

Goldsmith wrote to the forum's Pou Tikanga co-chairs, Professor Margaret Mutu and Aperahama Edwards, on 2 April, providing an update on cabinet's decision to proceed with a draft bill, setting out that no higher standard than "take into account" should be used to indicate the strength of the crown's treaty obligations.

The letter invited the NICF to provide written feedback by 24 April and noted that the "select committee process will otherwise provide a sufficient opportunity for those with interests to have their say".

The forum responded with the joint letter on 22 April, calling on the government to immediately withdraw the proposals, and meet with the NICF to "discuss and agree on a Te Tiriti compliant process by which improvements to relevant statutes are progressed".

Both letters were released to the Waitangi Tribunal as part of its urgent inquiry into the removal of school boards' legal obligation to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, although the tribunal expanded the scope of the inquiry to include the proposed removal of other treaty references in the Education and Training Act.

Professor Mutu told RNZ before the release of the joint letter that the NICF had been asking since November 2023 to be included.

"We have struggled to get information out of the government as to what it is actually doing and we are a treaty partner, and yet they're doing all of this change unilaterally," she said.

Mutu said "take into account" is the "weakest possible form" of obligation to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

"Take into account simply means, well, you can have a look at what the principles might be and then you can ignore them.

"It's effectively a mandate for those who are implementing the various pieces of legislation to ignore the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, so it is a huge shift."

Luxon confirmed that he had seen the forum's letter, but said the government would push forward with the legislation.

"The intent of this legislation is to make sure that we have very specific treaty clauses in there that pertains to legislation, so we're actually clear on our obligations to each other."

The government would continue to uphold treaty settlements, but the proposed legislation would address a "lack of clarity" in current law, he said.

Goldsmith didn't agree that the government had breached any treaty obligations.

The proposed legislation was part of an ongoing conversation and consultation, he said.

"There are many points along the way that cabinet decides these things, we've made some initial decisions and now we're going to draft legislation, that will go off to the parliament and select committee. There's many opportunities for a discussion."

Goldsmith said he planned to meet with the NICF soon.

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