The Government says it will press ahead with its Treaty Clause Review despite a scathing Waitangi Tribunal report finding the Crown has already breached Treaty principles through the way it developed the proposed reforms.
The tribunal’s report, Te Tinihanga o Ngā Mātāpono, released on Friday, concludes Cabinet made its February 2026 decisions without consulting Māori, largely disregarded officials’ advice and prioritised coalition commitments over informed policymaking.
It says the Crown has already breached the principles of partnership, active protection and good government, and warns further breaches would occur if the reforms are enacted.
The Tribunal found the Crown had caused “significant damage to the Crown Māori relationship”, creating uncertainty among iwi and undermining trust in the Crown.
“We have found that, through these actions, the Crown has caused prejudice to Māori, including significant damage to the Crown Māori relationship and distress and uncertainty among Māori about the future legislative protection of their interests.
“It has undermined trust in the Crown among settled iwi and caused anxiety among unsettled groups about the outcome of their ongoing negotiations.” The report said.
The Tribunal also rejected the Government’s rationale that the reforms would improve legal clarity, saying Ministers proceeded “without any consultation or engagement with Māori”, “without informing themselves of the effects” of the proposed changes and largely on “political considerations arising from commitments in coalition agreements”.
It concluded the reforms would amount to “a significant constitutional regression” in the legal recognition of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“What we have seen demonstrated in the evidence is a Crown... determined to undermine the Treaty/Tiriti relationship with Māori by either stripping away statutory protections through repeal or by deliberately reducing Treaty/Tiriti guarantees.”
“These reforms would be a significant constitutional regression in terms of the legislative recognition of the Treaty/te Tiriti.”
The Tribunal recommended the Government:
- immediately pause the reforms
- progress none of the proposed amendments until meaningful co-design with Māori has occurred
- not repeal any Treaty provisions
- not downgrade existing Treaty obligations
- undertake thorough engagement with Māori across every affected statute before any future reform proceeds
- if legislation is introduced, undertake a much broader select committee inquiry than usual and consult post settlement governance entities about impacts on Treaty settlements.
The report also notes Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith advised the National Iwi Chairs Forum in May that the reforms would not be enacted before the election because the Government had run out of time.
Despite that, the Tribunal criticised the overall approach, saying the Government had engaged in “the antithesis of good government”, instead “governing by coalition agreement” after cutting policy and consultation processes short.
Prime Minister responds - ‘it’s about clarity and certainty’
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the Government remained committed to the review.
“I haven’t gone through it in detail yet. I’m aware of some of the top-line remarks that they’ve passed.
“We’ve got a view which is that we just really want consistency and certainty with the clauses across our legislation, so they’re all very clear about our obligations going forward.”
Luxon said the Government’s objective was to provide “clarity and certainty” about Treaty obligations across legislation.
Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith also rejected calls to halt the reforms.
“We were elected as a Government to make some changes in this area. It’s part of the coalition agreement, and that’s what we’re doing.”
The review, which stems from National’s coalition agreement with New Zealand First, seeks to standardise, repeal or weaken Treaty clauses across a range of legislation.
Asked whether National would abandon the reforms if it formed the next Government without New Zealand First, Goldsmith declined to commit.
“Our primary focus is to win the election first, and then we’ll worry about things afterwards.”
“So the bill won’t be passed before the election, that’s obvious,” Goldsmith confirmed.
Asked about the Tribunal’s finding that the process itself had breached Treaty principles, Goldsmith responded:
“Yes, but they do have a tendency to always say everything we’ve done is wrong.”
He added the Government remained “quite comfortable” progressing the review.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Labour would scrap the reforms if elected.
“The Treaty Principles Bill is a massive step backwards for New Zealand.
“This is the second iteration of that, which is around removing Treaty clauses from legislation, would also be a massive step backwards for New Zealand.”
“It will not proceed under a Labour Government.”
ACT leader David Seymour defended the review, saying the Government, not the Tribunal, should determine public policy.
“The Waitangi Tribunal seem to think of themselves as some sort of alternative government. Well, I’m sorry they’re not.
“The democratically elected government is over here.”
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said she was not surprised by the findings, saying the Tribunal had found “further breaches of the Tiriti relationship”, and argued voters had the opportunity to reject the Government at November’s election.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa Packer said the report reinforced concerns the Government had continued making changes to Te Tiriti “without any engagement with anyone else”.
She called on all political parties to commit to abandoning the reforms and instead strengthen Te Tiriti’s place within New Zealand’s constitutional framework.
Co-leader Rawiri Waititi defended the Tribunal’s constitutional role, saying Parliament could not exist without Te Tiriti o Waitangi and reiterating Te Pāti Māori’s call to entrench Te Tiriti and establish a Treaty of Waitangi Commissioner.
Legislation covered by the Treaty Clause Review
The review proposes changes to Treaty provisions across the following legislation:
- Climate Change Response Act 2002
- Criminal Cases Review Commission Act 2019
- Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998
- Data and Statistics Act 2022
- Digital Identity Services Trust Framework Act 2023
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2000
- Environment Act 1986
- Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012
- Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996
- Land Transport Management Act 2003
- Local Government Act 2002
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Act 2020
- Oranga Tamariki Act 1989
- Organic Products and Production Act 2023
- Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022
- Plant Variety Rights Act 2022
- Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990
- Water Services Authority – Taumata Arowai Act 2020
The Education and Training Act 2020 formed part of Cabinet’s original decision but was considered separately by the Waitangi Tribunal and is not included in this report.
