A leading Māori lawyer is demanding the government extend the submission period for the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill, after a technical meltdown blocked public access on day one.
Tania Waikato, solicitor for Toitū Tiriti, says the outage is more than a glitch—it’s a red flag. She warns it reflects deeper flaws in how the government is pushing through legislation that critics fear could strip away critical protections for Māori communities.
“The submissions portal has already crashed due to overloading.”
“So, this government must give the people more time to have their say against this dangerous piece of constitutional mockery, which is what this bill is.”
The government rushed the Regulatory Standards Bill through its first reading under urgency, raising fresh fears it could be used to strip Treaty references from a wide range of existing laws.
Legal experts warn the bill’s broad scope opens the door to rewriting legislation unrelated to Treaty settlements.
Waikato points to earlier analysis by Otago University law lecturer Andrew Geddis, who raised similar concerns during the debate over the Treaty Principles Bill.
“Currently, there are 40 of those laws which protect things like te reo Māori. Funding for specifically Māori-related initiatives that aren’t tied to a Treaty settlement, such as in health and all of those provisions, can be stripped away and repealed if the regulatory settlement bill is passed.”
Despite the challenges, Waikato says communities are mobilising to ensure their concerns are heard. Nationwide and internationally.
“All throughout Aotearoa, Australia, and overseas,”
“We had 410 people register to do that workshop, and all of those people have now been trained to do those workshops to deliver in their communities while we tackle this Treaty Principles Bill 2.0.”
E rua, e rua
He tukanga tuku kōrero anō, he paheketanga pae tukutuku anō, nā, he whakahēmanawatanga ki ngā kaiwhakahē i te pire waeture.
He toaitanga tēnei ki i ngā raruraru i mahuta ake i te wā o te pire mātāpono o te tiriti i taua wā rā, e rua tekau mano tāpaetanga tuihono, tekau mā rua mano tāpaetanga kua tuhia ki te pepa i ukuia i te pukapuka Pāremata.
E ai ki te mema Pāremata o Nāhinara, ki a Nancy Lu, ka tika hoki me whakatakoto tēnei pire ki mua ki te aroaro o te marea, kia rongona ai ngā whakaaro a tēnā, a tēnā.
“So, let’s take it to the FMC select committee. Let’s hear from the public, scrutinise this bill. I support the first reading,”
Engari, hei tā te mema o te Reipā, tā Deborah Russell, kua rongo kē rātou i ngā korero a te marea.
“There was a consultation process at MBIE (Ministry of Business), a huge number of submissions received, and 0.33% supported this bill. There is virtually no support for it.”
