Wāhine Māori have raised concerns at the UNPFII in New York about the Treaty clause overhaul, warning it signals weakening Indigenous rights in Aotearoa.
The Government is progressing a review that will weaken how Te Tiriti o Waitangi is applied across legislation, now narrowed to 18 laws (down from 28, then 23), by standardising Treaty clauses to the lowest legal threshold of “taking into account” its principles.
At the Forum, wāhine Māori said the reforms must be understood alongside broader legislative and policy shifts affecting Māori rights.
Janell said the current review is “moving to reduce Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations to the lowest possible standard,” describing it as a shift away from the Crown’s active responsibilities towards minimal consideration.
She said this change comes at a time when stronger obligations are needed to address entrenched inequities in health, and called for Te Tiriti to be upheld in both its text and the spirit of its intent as a framework of partnership.
“In Aotearoa, the pattern is consistent and undeniable. Preventable illnesses, premature death, and unmet health needs continue to fall disproportionately among indigenous peoples,” she Dymus-Kurei said.
Em-Hayley Kūkūtai delivered a more direct condemnation, saying the Government is “disembowelling my people” and outlining what she described as widespread breaches of Indigenous rights under UNDRIP.
“The plague of colonisation, which has ravaged and sickened us since the 1800s, continues to threaten the indigenous human rights of our women and children under their leadership,” Walker stressed.
Claire Charters focused on the legal and constitutional shift underway, saying the Government is “currently in the process of deleting clauses in legislation requiring respect for Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”
Charters and Walker also pointed to Government positions rejecting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with Charters adding that upcoming visits from UN mechanisms would provide an opportunity for international scrutiny of the reforms.
Together, the interventions framed the Treaty clause review not as an isolated policy change, but as part of a broader restructuring of how Indigenous rights are recognised and enforced in domestic law, with significant implications for Māori participation in decision-making and accountability under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Across their interventions at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the wāhine also referenced findings from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).
The Treaty clause review is being led by Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith, who was in Geneva late last year representing New Zealand before the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), where countries report on how they are meeting their obligations to eliminate racism.
During that review, Goldsmith was repeatedly challenged by the committee over the Government’s positions, including its approach to hate speech and youth justice, with experts criticising the responses as inadequate. The resulting CERD report raised serious concerns that New Zealand is moving backwards on Māori rights.
“The fact that this Government is still rolling out actions that directly go against the recommendations in that report, particularly the Treaty clause review, shows a clear contradiction,” said Tina Ngata, who attended the Geneva session.
Te Ao Māori News has reached out to Minister Goldsmith for comment on the CERD findings and the Government’s Treaty clause review.
Labour said it will oppose the bill and repeal it if elected, strongly criticising the Government’s Treaty clause review as “disgusting” and “Treaty principles by stealth,” warning it risks weakening Māori partnership in decision-making and mirrors earlier attempts to redefine Te Tiriti.
“Ko tāku ki tō tātou iwi, horekau mātou e whakatūpapaku ana i te Tiriti; engari, hei whakatikatika, hei whakahanga, hei whakariterite ana,” hei tā Shane Jones o NZ First.
“It’s a race to the bottom between ACT and New Zealand First to see who can trample on the Treaty the most to appeal to a tiny minority of New Zealanders — pathetic,” said Tamatha Paul of the Green Party.
