Chris Hipkins says he is open to considering a Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti as proposed by Te Pāti Māori, but has ruled out the role having veto powers.

Te Pāti Māori Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer rejected the notion the party ever wanted "veto rights" as reported by media last week, and said the two potential coalition partners, Labour and Te Pāti Māori, were "pretty much in the same camp" around protecting Te Tiriti.

Last week at Waitangi, Te Pāti Māori re-committed to the policy, which it said would ensure the Crown was held accountable for its obligations under the founding document.

Asked whether the commissioner would be a bottom line, Ngarewa-Packer said protecting Te Tiriti and putting it at the centre of every decision had always been a critical factor of who the party was.

ACT leader David Seymour put out a press release at the time saying Labour and the Greens needed to rule out ever being in government with Te Pāti Māori if "breaking democracy is a bottom line" for them.

In response Hipkins initially told RNZ he was "open to conversations" about how to better ensure the government is living up to the promise of Te Tiriti, "not just for Māori, but for all New Zealanders."

He explained a Parliamentary Commissioner "can't overrule parliament".

"They provide advice to Parliament, but there is only one Parliament, and it can't be overruled. It can't be overruled by the courts either."

In response to questions from the media that the policy might be viewed as a "Māori veto", co-leader Rawiri Waititi said it should be a "Treaty veto".

"The Treaty should always veto any decision made in Aotearoa, it's the very reason why everybody is here - Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

"Te Tiriti o Waitangi must be at the centre of every decision made here in Aotearoa."

Waititi pushed back during the media conference on the use of the word "veto", saying that was introduced by the media.

Hipkins was asked about a "veto" power the next day on Morning Report, and [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/540965/labour-would-not-support-te-tiriti-commissioner-with-veto-right-hipkins indicated the "Labour Party would not support a parliamentary commissioner with a veto that would allow them to overturn rules made, or laws made by the parliament."

A spokesperson for Te Pāti Māori then clarified their proposed commissioner would not have these powers.

1News reported on Monday night the Labour leader had ruled out the policy idea for a Te Tiriti commissioner, saying "we have to have some bottom lines."

Asked again on Tuesday morning to clarify his position, Hipkins explained he would not support a veto power, but walked back the bottom line.

"Parliamentary commissioners do not have veto powers the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, for example, cannot overturn Parliament's laws. The Supreme Court of New Zealand cannot overturn laws passed by the New Zealand Parliament. So that's an absolutely clear line. We would not support that."

When it was put to him the commissioner would not have those powers, Hipkins said again "we're always open to those kind of conversations."

"I think the conversation we would have for them is how that would relate to the Waitangi Tribunal, whose job it is to do the things that a parliamentary Commissioner might otherwise do."

Later Tuesday afternoon Debbie Ngarewa-Packer was asked again about the issue and said the "veto word actually came from the media."

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER

"We never once said we were looking for veto rights, what we were looking for is to assert and maintain our Tiriti rights, and we're pretty much in the same camp - we want to protect Te Tiriti and look at what that would mean for the whole of Aotearoa."

When asked how this would work in practice, Ngarewa-Packer said a commissioner would "hold to account the honouring of Te Tiriti."

"We're really good at the settling, and we're really good at doing the historical breaches and apologising in this place, but a Commissioner would be about holding the government to account, being able to remind [the government] the recommendations of the Tribunal."

She said the policy is still being formed, and was then asked whether the confusion about the role was due to not having more detail when it was announced.

In response she said the media "ran away with the word veto" and it wasn't a word that came from their party.

"We're hearing that same language from Chris [Hipkins], I just think there's a little bit of media interference, a little bit of mischief and it gets the headlines."

-RNZ