The Justice select committee is now calling for public submissions on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill.
Submissions are open for six weeks, until 11.59pm Tuesday, January 7 2025, and can be made on the official government website, or mailed in.
The call for submissions yesterday said the committee "is conscious that the bill is controversial, and intends to facilitate a measured debate", and that no feedback containing offensive language will be considered.
Submissions can made in te reo Māori and will be translated to English, with the committee also saying the translation process “may take some time”.
National’s James Meager chairs the committee and told Te Ao Māori News it would be working to a typical six-month timeframe for the overall process - though hearings were intended to be wrapped up by the end of February.
As it stands, the bill, which seeks to define the principles by which te Tiriti o Waitangi is interpreted in legislation, would lay out the following three principles:
- Principle 1: The Government of New Zealand has full power to govern, and Parliament has full power to make laws. They do so in the best interests of everyone, and in accordance with the rule of law and the maintenance of a free and democratic society.
- Principle 2: The Crown recognises the rights that hapū and iwi had when they signed the Treaty/te Tiriti. The Crown will respect and protect those rights. Those rights differ from the rights everyone has a reasonable expectation to enjoy only when they are specified in Treaty settlements.
- Principle 3: Everyone is equal before the law and is entitled to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination. Everyone is entitled to the equal enjoyment of the same fundamental human rights without discrimination.
The principles would only become law if the bill passes its second and third reading, before going to a referendum - which would require the support of a majority of Aotearoa’s voting public at the 2026 general election
However, both National and New Zealand First have vowed to shoot it down at the second reading.
Public submissions will be released and published on the Parliament website, with the name of the submitter or their organisation attached.