The Waitangi Tribunal has marked its 50th anniversary with a two-day conference at Te Tumu Herenga Waka Marae in Wellington, bringing together former judges, legal scholars, and iwi leaders to reflect on its legacy and future role in Aotearoa.
Established in 1975 through legislation introduced by Labour minister Matiu Rata, the Tribunal was created to investigate Māori claims relating to breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Initially restricted to contemporary issues, its mandate was later expanded to inquire into historic grievances dating back to 1840, paving the way for significant Treaty settlements and reshaping the Crown–Māori relationship.
The conference highlighted not only the Tribunal’s pivotal moments but also the people who carried its work through turbulent decades.
Among them was Tā Eddie Taihakurei Durie, who presided as chair of the Tribunal from 1980 to 2004.
Durie recalled a defining moment in the late 1980s when the Tribunal confronted the planned sale of state-owned enterprise assets. At stake were farms under claim in Muriwhenua, where iwi argued that once transferred, the land could be lost to them forever.
The case became central to what is now known as the landmark “lands” litigation, which confirmed that the Crown had to act in line with the principles of the Treaty. It was a turning point that safeguarded land for future settlements and gave real legal force to Treaty jurisprudence.
He described how the urgency of the situation led to swift collaboration between Tribunal members, lawyers, and ministers.
“We thought, well, David Baragwanath [Crown’s lawyer] won’t miss a trick, he’ll be giving us a hard time in the morning. Sure enough, at nine o’clock, he was there, asking the Tribunal to put aside what it had for the day and go straight into addressing this concern about the Act,” Durie said.
By that afternoon, a draft report had been telephoned through to Wellington and by 4:30pm, it was in the Minister’s hands.
Within days, the clause “Nothing in this Act shall be contrary to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi” was inserted into the legislation. That provision would become a cornerstone of modern Treaty jurisprudence.
Durie reflected on the transformation that followed.
“Previously, we had been like a man-of-war with no guns, merely making recommendations. Suddenly, there was a way of shifting things to the courts, where effect could be given to the principles we had been writing about.”
He also shared personal memories of growing up in Feilding, cycling past land his grandmother said once belonged to their people.
“My grandmother and the old people used to tell us: ‘That’s your land, all along there.’
But we weren’t on it. I would ask, ‘How did we lose it?’ and they’d go quiet. Or they’d give a false answer, ‘blankets and beads.’ The terrible thing was, they didn’t know.”
Durie said the Tribunal had helped fill that silence by making histories accessible to communities.
“Now the Tribunal has access to the whole story, and that is extremely important.”
He also pointed to the revival of te reo Māori and the growth of Māori media as evidence of how the Tribunal’s work had fed into wider social change.
“Look at te reo Māori. Once described as a dying language, today it cannot be stopped. Māori news used to be 15 minutes once a week on National Radio. Today we own our own radio stations and a TV channel.”
Durie also paid tribute to the protest movement, noting that without their pressure on the streets, the Tribunal would not have gained the mandate or momentum to address historic grievances.
“I really do want to thank the protest movement. There were so many times when things were difficult for us, and a protest would start up, and things that we were saying that people thought was radical, after hearing the protest movement, it sounded conservative.
“That’s how we really had to present, as conservative. I mean, we had an enormous power in making recommendations. The more power you got, the more conservative you become. But they kept the kaupapa right out there in the front, and that was very helpful to us,” he said.
For him, the greatest achievement is clear.
“We have actually changed New Zealand’s national identity. We now think of ourselves in a vastly different way than we did 50 years ago.”
Chief Judge Caren Fox, who now chairs the Tribunal, said its purpose must be continually explained and understood.
“If the Waitangi Tribunal is to continue to discharge its statutory function, it requires an informed social, cultural, and political environment that understands its value as the only forum where the Treaty of Waitangi and the claims filed by Māori can be fully examined.
“It must also be able to demonstrate how it is expediting the hearing of such claims and clearly explain how the end of its two main work streams are within reach, 2030 for all historical claims, and 2035 for all kaupapa inquiries.”
The conference also coincided with the launch of 50 Years of the Waitangi Tribunal, edited by Carwyn Jones and Maria Bargh, which brings together Māori perspectives on the Tribunal’s legacy and future challenges.
