David Seymour’s controversial Treaty Principles Bill, which has sparked protests and legal opposition, has a public submission deadline tomorrow, January 7 at 11:59 pm.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has stated that he does not support the bill, promising not to back it beyond the first reading, as outlined in the coalition agreement with ACT.
In November 2024 the Hikoi mō te Tiriti was a series of nationwide activations march from the top of the North Island to Parliament in protest of the Treaty Principles Bill.
Police say more than 42,000 attended the hīkoi in Wellington alone, but the number has been disputed, with some being believing to be much higher.
Following te Hīkoi mō te Tiriti there were wānanga all across the motu informing whānau and communities on the harms of the bill.
More than 40 members of the King’s Counsel, some of Aotearoa’s most senior legal minds called for the coalition to act responsibly and abandon the bill.
Local government has also been vocal in opposition with formal opposition from councils including; Waikato Regional, Horizons Regional, Auckland, Wellington City, Hutt City, Stratford District, Selwyn District, and Environment Canterbury Regional.
Tina Ngata, an activist and educator who is a member of Koekoeā—a group that brings accessible information and workshops on the bill— explained the harmful implications of the proposed changes.
“The Crown commitments are framed within the principles so, when you affect the principles, it has the same legal effect as redefining the Treaty itself,” Ngata said.
There were many issues Ngata pointed out about the bill in that it predicates Māori ceded sovereignty, and was a breach of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Ngata said the bill would have a “whole ecosystem impact of te ao Māori” across housing, whenua, natural resources, waterways, transport and health.
She said the treaty principles have served to protect the natural environment from corporate exploitation, the bill also places the taiao and therefore all of Aotearoa in danger.
You can make a submission on the bill as an individual or behalf of an organisation here.
