The Justice Committee has called for public submissions on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. The closing date for submissions is Tuesday, January 7 2025.

The purpose of the bill is to set out the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in legislation, and require, where relevant, those principles to be used when interpreting legislation.

The committee intends to make further decisions about the submissions process and will communicate these publicly when they are agreed. For example, the committee intends to consider and resolve criteria for submissions that will not be accepted in terms of offensive language. The committee is conscious that the bill is controversial and intends to facilitate a measured debate.

The committee is intending to complete hearings by the end of February 2025. Further decisions about hearings will be made and communicated in due course.

Making a submission

Submissions can only be made via the portal on the Parliament website or via post addressed to Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, Committee Secretariat, Justice Committee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington. For more information see “How to Make A Submission” on the Parliament website.

Written submissions can be made in English and te reo Māori. Submissions made in te reo Māori will be translated into English, although this may take some time.

About the bill

Parliament first introduced the concept of the Treaty principles in legislation in the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, but did not define them.

The Treaty principles help reconcile differences between the te reo Māori and English texts and give effect to the spirit and intent of the Treaty when applied to contemporary issues.

They apply to Government policy and operational decisions and are used to interpret legislation, and by the Waitangi Tribunal to review proposed Crown action or inaction, policies, and legislation.

The purpose of the bill is to set out the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in legislation, and require, where relevant, those principles to be used when interpreting legislation. The bill proposes the following principles:

The overarching objective of the bill is to define what the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are in statute to:

To come into force, the bill would require the support of a majority of electors voting in a referendum.

For more information, please visit ‘Frequently asked questions: Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill’ or contact TreatyPrinciples@parliament.govt.nz.

Click here to make a submission.