Fourth urgent inquiry by the Waitangi Tribunal, this time on Māori wards (2024)

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8 May 2024

4:03 pm on 8 May 2024

Fourth urgent inquiry by the Waitangi Tribunal, this time on Māori wards (1)

(file image). Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook

The Waitangi Tribunal is conducting another urgent inquiry into plans to require councils to hold a binding referendum on Māori wards.

It adds to a growing list of urgent Tribunal inquiries into government policies, taking the number to four since the government took office.

In April, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown announced the move, saying it would reverse the previous government's "divisive changes that denied local communities the ability to determine" if Māori wards were set up.

Speaking to RNZ, lead claimaint and Indigenous Rights campaigner Te Raukura O'Connell Rapira (Te Ātiawa, Ngāruahine, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whakaue) said the government was feeling threatened by the progress that Aotearoa had made towards becoming a more Tiriti-honouring society.

"The proposal to remove Māori wards, or force councils to put them to a referendum is just the latest attack in a long string of attacks. In the past few years Aotearoa has gone from having three councils with Māori wards to 49 who now have them or will have them at the 2025 local elections.

"We don't govern our way towards a better, more harmonious, future through bullying and division. We govern our way to a more harmonious future through consensus-based and participatory decision making - that's what we're trying to protect," they said.

The government had massively overreached into the jurisdiction of local councils, Rapira said.

"They're bringing colonised thinking, fear and projection to these spaces when, actually, the councils that have put in place Māori wards have been through their own localised processes because those councils are more in touch with the community than some bureaucrats in Wellington.

"Not only are they riding roughshod over their Treaty obligations, they're also riding roughshod over their supposed belief in liberal democracy.

"We have a famous whakataukī in the Māori world which says, 'With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive'. They bring the baskets of knowledge contained within the Māori world together with the baskets of knowledge contained within the non-Māori world so that all of Aotearoa and the people that call this place home can thrive," they said.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said all three parties in his government campaigned on restoring the rights of communities to determine whether to introduce Māori wards.

Luxon told RNZ the tribunal was free to do what it wanted, but the change was well sign-posted.

When the Coalition reviewed the focus and scope of the Tribunal in a post-treaty settlement world, it would be done in a proper and considered way, Luxon said.

Claimant evidence and opening submissions were due 8 May, with the Crown's evidence and opening submissions due 10 May. Claimants will then have until 14 May for closing submissions and reply to the Crown.

The Tribunal has to release its report before 20 May, when the government is set to introduce the bill.

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  • local council
  • te ao Māori

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Fourth urgent inquiry by the Waitangi Tribunal, this time on Māori wards (2024)

FAQs

What were the findings of the Waitangi Tribunal? ›

The Main Findings of the Tribunal

Māori fisheries were protected by the Treaty of Waitangi and emptying Rotorua's effluent into the Kaituna River would be contrary to the principles of the Treaty because it would pollute the fisheries; and.

What does tribunal mean in the Treaty of Waitangi? ›

The Waitangi Tribunal is a standing commission of inquiry. It makes recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to legislation, policies, actions or omissions of the Crown that are alleged to breach the promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi.

What are Maori wards in local government? ›

Māori ward(s) sit alongside general wards in a district. They allow voters on the Māori roll to elect a representative to their local council. The aim of Māori wards is to ensure Māori are represented in local government decision making.

What does article 3 of the Treaty of Waitangi mean? ›

Article 3. In article 3, the Crown promised to Māori the benefits of royal protection and full citizenship. This text emphasises equality.

What is the Waitangi Tribunal summary? ›

Set up by the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, the Waitangi Tribunal is a permanent commission of inquiry that makes recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to Crown actions which breach the promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi.

What are the biggest settlements from the Waitangi Tribunal? ›

Financial redress, historical Treaty claims: ten largest settlements
Amount $millionGroupYear of Legislation
170Ngāi Tahu1998
170Waikato/Tainui Raupatu1995
170Commercial Fisheries1992
169Ngāti Tūhoe2014
6 more rows
Oct 8, 2014

What is the 4th article of the Treaty of Waitangi? ›

This is the addition to the Treaty now referred to as the fourth article. This article ensures that Māori and Pākehā alike have the freedom and protection to practise their religion, faith and cultural customs.

What is the fourth article of the Treaty of Waitangi? ›

At the treaty signing it was also agreed verbally that all people in New Zealand would be free to practice whichever religion they chose, including traditional Māori beliefs or different forms of Christianity. This is known as the “fourth article”, and is sometimes referred to today as the Ritenga Māori Declaration.

What is Section 4 of the Treaty of Waitangi? ›

Section 4 of the Conservation Act requires anyone working under the Act (including Conservation Boards and the NZCA) to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi when interpreting or administering anything under the Act.

Which of the following was a result of the Treaty of Waitangi? ›

Te Tiriti o Waitangi (known in English as the Treaty of Waitangi), is an agreement made in 1840 between representatives of the British Crown and (ultimately) more than 500 rangatira Māori. It resulted in the declaration of British sovereignty over New Zealand by Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson in May 1840.

What did the Waitangi Tribunal Report 2017? ›

The Tribunal says that, while the Justice sector announced in February 2017 a broad target to reduce Māori reoffending, the Department has no specific plan or strategy to reduce Māori reoffending rates, no specific target to reduce Māori reoffending rates, and no specific budget to meet this end.

What powers did the Treaty of Waitangi Act give the Waitangi Tribunal? ›

The Tribunal has a limited power to summons witnesses, require the production of documents, and maintain or- der at its hearings. It does not have a general power to make orders preventing something from happening or compelling something to happen and neither can it make a party to Tribunal proceedings pay costs.

What was the Waitangi Treaty Tribunal decision regarding the ngapuhi claim? ›

The Tribunal determined that any entity seeking to represent Ngāpuhi in settlement negotiations had to produce clear evidence of hapū support for its mandate. This is because Ngāpuhi is characterised by the strength of autonomy that its constituent hapū enjoy.

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