This article was first published on RNZ.
Northland iwi Ngāti Hine and hapū Te Kapotai are calling for an urgent Waitangi Tribunal inquiry after the government removed school boards’ legal obligations to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The claimants say the amendments to the Education and Training Act 2020, and the reset of the New Zealand Curriculum - Te Mātaiaho, undermine Māori rangatiratanga, partnership, and equity in education.
A statement of claim was filed on 19 November 2025 on behalf of Te Kapotai (Wai 1464/1546) and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hine (Wai 682/49), alongside a joint application for urgency.
The claimants argue the legislative and curriculum changes are inconsistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and cause “significant and irreversible prejudice” to Māori including:
- Schools being unable to uphold treaty guarantees of tino rangatiratanga and partnership.
- Unilateral Crown decision-making affecting Māori children and their whānau.
- Immediate damage to the Treaty relationship between Māori and the Crown.
- Loss of cultural safety, erosion of kaupapa Māori foundations, and disproportionate harm to tamariki Māori.
- Unequal access between Māori children to te reo Māori, tikanga, and mātauranga across schools.
- Increased resourcing burdens on the sector and school boards to adapt to the changes.
Claims submitted to the Tribunal state that the legislative and curriculum changes remove, weaken and deprioritise Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Veteran Māori broadcaster Waihoroi Shortland said that the legislative changes amounted to a modern re-enactment of the Treaty Principles Bill “by stealth,” effectively eliminating Te Tiriti from the statute book.
He argued the Crown’s actions form part of a “long pattern of removing Māori nationhood from law and policy.”
Kara George said the Crown had failed to engage with hapū, creating “culturally unsafe, assimilationist educational environments” and affecting tamariki Māori language, identity, and well-being.
Tumuaki Maia Cooper said the changes had led to burnout for kaiako, removed kaupapa Māori foundations from school practice, and eroded equity settings for tamariki Māori.
Educator and grandparent Arona Tipene said the changes were destabilising for Māori whānau and kaiako, led to a loss of cultural safety in schools, and disproportionately affected Māori children who rely on Te Tiriti obligations for protection of their identity, belonging, and well-being.
She said the removal of these foundations could cause permanent harm to current and future generations.
The claimants argued there is no alternative remedy for these breaches of Te Tiriti, and that urgent Tribunal intervention is required before the amendment comes into force in November 2026.
The Tribunal has directed the Crown and other interested parties to respond by Wednesday, 3 December.
By Layla Bailey-McDowell of RNZ.
