New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones is warning the Waitangi Tribunal that sweeping change is coming should his party return to government following this year’s election, telling the body that “if you continue to thwart the democratic mandate of small parties like New Zealand First, you are imperilling your very existence.”
This comes as the government wraps up its wide-scale review of the tribunal and its current function.
In May 2025, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced the establishment of an Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) to review the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975.
At the time, Potaka said the review, as part of the coalition agreement with New Zealand First, was timely.
“Over the past 50 years, the Tribunal has made significant contributions to the Māori Crown relationship and informed the settlement of both historical and contemporary Treaty claims impacting generations of whānau across the country.”
“Given the progress of historical claims and settlements and concerns about the Tribunal’s current workload, it is timely to review the legislation that determines how it undertakes its inquiries.”
According to a report by Pokere Paiwai from RNZ, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka said the findings and recommendations of the review were before ministers and being actively considered.
“This is significant work, and we are focused on getting the government’s response right. Decisions on the release of the Independent Technical Advisory Group’s report will be announced once that consideration is complete.”
In a video published on Shane Jones’ Facebook page, Jones warned the tribunal that it had long overstepped its mark.
“The Waitangi Tribunal needs to focus on the important role that development, that growth, that self-responsibility, that duties and obligations represent in terms of getting the balance right between the aspirations of iwi and hapu and ensuring those aspirations are not weaponised and create a platform for polarisation and divisiveness.”
“My advice to the Waitangi Tribunal: show restraint. If you continue to thwart the democratic mandate of small parties like New Zealand First, you are imperilling your very existence.”
The history of the Waitangi Tribunal
Under then-Minister of Māori Affairs Matiu Rata, the tribunal was established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 as a permanent commission of inquiry. Its original scope, investigating contemporary Crown breaches, was broadened in 1985 to review historical claims dating back to 1840.
Looking ahead, Jones argued the tribunal should narrow its focus to a commitment to a shared future.
“Please focus your judgment upon those issues that add to cohesiveness, those issues that add to the growth, the development and the durability of our relationships with each other as New Zealanders and the primary importance of indivisible citizenship, indivisible nationhood, and a commitment to a shared future where our commitment as fellow New Zealanders eclipses every single other fairy tale dream, including parallel sovereignties, which belong in a parallel universe.”
Te Ao Māori News has reached out to the Waitangi Tribunal for a response.
