Iwi leaders say Government plans to weaken or remove Treaty references in legislation risk undermining Māori rights, damaging Crown relationships and eroding partnership arrangements.
Iwi organisations in the wider Whanganui region are warning the proposed reforms will reduce Māori influence in decisions affecting whānau and resources.
Ngāti Rangi’s Tomairangi Mareikura says any attempt to replace or narrow Treaty references without iwi involvement would “breach our [Treaty] settlement”.
“If there was any thought of modifications it must be designed with us not against us; we object in the strongest possible way to changes imposed unilaterally by the Crown,” Mareikura said.
Te Aroha McDonnell, co-chair of Te Mātuku Iwi-Māori Partnership Board, says changing legal obligations from stronger wording, such as “give effect to” the Treaty, to agencies merely having to “take [it] into account” would weaken expectations on government agencies.
“The wording in legislation has real impacts on how seriously agencies respond to their responsibilities under te Tiriti,” McDonnell said.
“’Take into account’ sets a much lower expectation than ‘give effect to’. One can mean Māori views are heard and then set aside. The other creates a stronger responsibility to act.”
On May 15, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced proposals to change or repeal Treaty references in 19 pieces of legislation.
The changes include stripping the Treaty from seven acts and specifying in a further 10 acts that Treaty provisions should be considered by no higher standard than “take into account”.
In his announcement, Goldsmith said existing references sometimes specified ‘honour’, ‘have regard to’, ‘give effect to’, or ‘take into account’.
“We need to create some consistency here, in the interests of increasing certainty and supporting compliance.”
Goldsmith said the proposals had been made as “a first step”.
“Conversations will continue around how this review could go further in the future,” Goldsmith said.
“We are now consulting with iwi, and the legislation will go through a full select committee process where all New Zealanders can have their say.”
McDonnell said te Tiriti remained “the foundation of our relationship with the Crown”.
“Weakening those obligations sends a message that Māori rights and voices are becoming less important in decision-making.”
She warned Māori communities would feel the impacts most sharply in areas where inequities already exist, including health, housing, education and environmental management.
Te Mātuku is one of 15 legislated Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards established under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 to represent Māori health priorities and strengthen Māori participation in health decision-making. It represents iwi across the Whanganui and neighbouring regions, known collectively as Te Ranga Tupua. The affiliated iwi are: Ngāti Hāua, Ngāti Rangi, Uenuku, Ngāti Whitikaupeka, Ngāti Tamakōpiri, Ngāi Te Ohuake, Ngāti Hauiti, Ngā Wairiki/Ngāti Apa, Tūpoho, Tama Ūpoko and Ngā Rauru Kītahi.
The Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act is one of the 10 laws where references are being specified to ‘take into account’.
McDonnell said narrowing Treaty references would create uncertainty around existing partnerships developed through settlements, engagement processes and legal decisions.
“Relationships between iwi and the Crown rely on trust and good faith,” she said.
“Changes like this can damage that trust, especially when Māori communities are already raising concerns about being excluded from important decisions.”
Mareikura, chairwoman of Ngāti Rangi post-settlement governance entity Te Tōtarahoe o Paerangi, said her iwi agreed with Waitangi Tribunal findings that the Government’s “aggressive” approach breaches Treaty principles like partnership and active protection.
The Tribunal has said the proposed reforms demonstrate a “reckless disregard” for harm to Māori-Crown relations and could cause “significant and irreversible prejudice” to Māori if implemented without scrutiny.
“Ngāti Rangi is very clear: Treaty obligations must not be diluted,” Mareikura said.
She said Ngāti Rangi’s settlement negotiations with the Crown were guided by the principle “Kia mau ki te wairua o Te Tiriti o Waitangi” (Keep to the spirit of the Treaty of Waitangi), alongside commitments including: “Where the Crown goes, so goes Ngāti Rangi”.
“Essentially, if the Crown goes into our rohe; we go together. Wherever the Crown is, it must work with its Treaty partners – and that would mean throughout policy review, select committee and parliamentary processes.”
Both leaders called for meaningful consultation processes that involved iwi and Māori communities from the outset, with adequate time and resources to consider proposals and respond.
McDonnell said consultation must include “kanohi ki te kanohi engagement” and willingness from the Government to change course according to Māori feedback.
“Māori perspectives should help shape the legislation, not sit on the sidelines of the process,” McDonnell said.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
