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RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Māori landowners take Crown to High court over freshwater rights
The claimants argue this legal challenge follows more than a decade of "broken promises" and "Crown inaction". Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King Māori groups are calling on the Crown to urgently honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and take action to restore the health of freshwater across Aotearoa. On 26 June, 32 Māori Land Trusts representing more than 150,000 landowners, hapū and iwi filed proceedings in the High Court. The number of claimant groups have since grown to around 60 Māori Land Trusts, along with several iwi and hapū from across the North Island. The case cites what the group describes as the Crown's "repeated failure to uphold the tikanga-based and Tiriti-guaranteed rights, interests and responsibilities of Māori in relation to freshwater". The claimants are seeking: The claimants argue this legal challenge follows more than a decade of "broken promises" and "Crown inaction", despite obligations under Articles 1 and 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and repeated Tribunal and court findings affirming Māori proprietary and kaitiaki rights. "Successive governments have refused to establish a fair and durable water allocation system that enables Māori to exercise their rangatiratanga rights and their role as kaitiaki," the claimaints said. "Even as both water quality deteriorates, and water quantity diminishes across the country." In 2012, then Deputy Prime Minister Bill English acknowledged Māori rights and interests in freshwater and geothermal resources in an affidavit to the High Court. That position was recorded by the Supreme Court in 2013, alongside the Crown's assurance that it would develop mechanisms for recognising these interests. Claimants say little has changed. "The Crown continues to allocate water on a "first-in, first-served" basis, ignoring the deep spiritual, cultural, and practical responsibilities of Māori as kaitiaki, and depriving Māori landowners and communities of the water rights they need to thrive." Kingi Smiler, Wairarapa Moana ki Pouākani chair, says the dismantling of Te Mana o Te Wai and changes to the Resource Management Act will have a detrimental effect on New Zealands waterways. Photo: John Cowpland / alphapix Kingi Smiler, Wairarapa Moana ki Pouākani chairperson, speaking on behalf of the claimant group, said under the Crown's watch their waterways have become "degraded, over-allocated and increasingly vulnerable". "This is about restoring balance. It's about acknowledging that Māori have never relinquished our relationship with water. We are doing what we've always done: standing up for the health of our water, our whenua, and generations to come," Smiler said. "There were specific guarantees and assurances the Crown gave back in 2012. They haven't honoured those. So Māori are saying, we need to act now - before our rights are diminished even further." The timing of the claim follows the government's move to restructure the Resource Management Act (RMA) and roll back Te Mana o te Wai, a water protection framework that prioritised the health and well-being of water bodies and freshwater ecosystems above all other uses of water. "The dismantling of Te Mana o te Wai and the hierarchy of obligations that come under it is a reason for concern about the health of the waterways," Smiler told RNZ. Smiler said degradation continues across many rohe, and it was extremely concerning. "There's clear knowledge that there continues to be degradation of our waterways - generally speaking - and some catchments are worse than others. And at the moment, there's certainly not enough action being taken." "We are concerned that with the dismantling of Te Mana o te Wai, that could accelerate degradation further." The claimants also point to the failure of the current allocation system to deliver equity. "There is still no proper recognition of Māori proprietary rights, even though they've been acknowledged by the Waitangi Tribunal," Smiler said. "This is not about Māori trying to own the water. It's about resolving the obligations and being inclusive so that we can all participate in the process." Smiler said there are rights guaranteed under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. "And it needs to acknowledge those kaitiakitanga and tikanga Treaty rights we have for the control and use of water, with everybody else." Smiler said, at the moment, they were not part of that system. "And in some catchments, our people have been locked out and don't have the opportunity to develop their whenua, even though they've been kaitiaki and had continuous ownership of their lands since 1840." Chairperson Ahuwhenua Committee Kingi Smiler. Photo: Smiler (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Te Ati Awa, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) is a respected Māori agribusiness leader. He founded Miraka, the first Māori-owned dairy company, and was inducted into the NZ Business Hall of Fame in 2023. His incorporation (Wairarapa Moana ki Pouākani Incorporation) also won the 2024 Ahuwhenua Trophy for the top Māori dairy farm. He encouraged wider public awareness and support for the kaupapa and said the health of Aotearoa's waterways affects everyone - the time to act is now. "For the whole community's sake, it's about ensuring we have healthy waterways for all of us, and that there's a fair system and a fair sharing in the development and use of those waters." The legal process is now underway, with the case filed in the High Court. It is expected to pass through the Court of Appeal and potentially the Supreme Court - a process that could take two to three years. Despite the complexity and length of the court process, Smiler said the level of unity has been overwhelming. "There's a recognition by people now that this needs to be done. Otherwise, it will continue to be invisiblised and diminished over time." "It's a long road, but we're committed," he said. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone RNZ approached the government for comment, in response, National MP Chris Bishop, the Minister responsible for RMA Reform said: "I am aware of proceedings brought by a group of individuals and the Pouakani Claims Trust against the Attorney-General. The proceedings were filed on Thursday 26 June." "As this is a matter before the courts, I do not make any comments."
RNZ News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Waitangi Tribunal recommends 'immediate halt' Regulatory Standards Bill for 'meaningful consultation' with Māori
ACT leader David Seymour announced the bill would be brought before Cabinet next week. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The Waitangi Tribunal has recommended the Crown immediately halt the advancement of the Regulatory Standards Bill to allow for meaningful consultation with Māori. The recommendation comes from the Tribunal's interim report into the bill, which follows a one-day urgent hearing earlier this week. Māori rights group Toitū te Tiriti have warned the introduction of the bill into law would diminish the Crown's obligations to the Treaty of Waitangi. Around 18,000 people signed their online petition . The bill is part of the National and ACT party's coalition agreement to pass a Regulatory Standards Act to 'improve the quality of regulation' and introduce principles of 'good law-making' that future and past legislation would need to be measured against. In its report the Tribunal said the Crown accepted that the bill was created with no occurred targeted engagement, which is a violation of it's partnership obligations to consult with Māori in good faith. That is despite it being "inherently relevant" to Māori, as it would chance the way Parliament makes laws, the report said. The report found if the Regulatory Standards Act were enacted without meaningful consultation with Māori, it would constitute a breach of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi - specifically the principles of partnership and active protection. The Crown would also be in breach of Treaty principles if it were to introduce the bill to Parliament without more consultation with Māori. Without a full draft of the proposed bill, or more information on how the legislative principles would be applied, The Tribunal could not say what prejudice would likely arise from the bill's enactment in terms of changes to government law-making practice. The Crown should meaningfully engage with Māori on whether the proposed legislation is necessary, what further exemptions in the bill may be required to protect Māori rights and interests, and the potential impact of the proposed 'rule of law' principle on government measures in place to pursue equitable outcomes for Māori, the report found. In a statement, ACT leader David Seymour said the bill was ultimately about transparent lawmaking, less red tape and better lives. "The Regulatory Standards Bill will help New Zealand get its mojo back. It requires politicians and officials to ask and answer certain questions before they place restrictions on citizens' freedoms." "The Tribunal's main objection is that the Bill requires 'equality before the law', which is mentioned repeatedly in the document. "What it doesn't understand is that equality before the law is fundamental to a functioning democracy. We can address New Zealand's problems without racial discrimination." The Waitangi Tribunal was not a parallel government elected by New Zealanders, even if it acted like it was, Seymour said. "The Tribunal's claims are incorrect. This law increases the transparency of bad lawmaking so New Zealanders face less red tape and regulation and can live better lives. There's not a single point in their report that disagrees with this. As their report accepts, no Treaty settlements will ever be affected by the bill." "The Tribunal complains there was a lack of consultation with Māori. But consultation on the proposed Bill was open for nearly two months, with 23,000 submissions from the public, including 114 on behalf of iwi/hapū. And everyone, including Māori, will have another chance to submit at select committee." The government has announced it will review the Waitangi Tribunal to refocus the "scope, purpose and nature" of the Tribunal's inquiries back to its "original intent". Māori health leader Lady Tureiti Moxon welcomed the 33-page report and said it warned of a serious constitutional threat to Māori rights and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. "The Waitangi Tribunal has confirmed what many of us have been saying: that this coalition government is using its unbridled power to the detriment of our nation. "It has calculatingly sidelined Māori, purposely ignored its Treaty obligations, and is pushing forward with legislation that could undermine areas from health equity to tino rangatiratanga." Lady Moxon said the ACT's focus on 'equality before the law' was a dangerous oversimplification that failed to account for the impacts of colonisation. "Equality assumes a level playing field - but for Māori, the field has been tilted against us for generations. This Bill promotes a version of fairness that ignores our history, overlooks injustice, and threatens the very laws and policies designed to address those harms that currently exist." She said the government has treated Te Tiriti like an optional "nice-to-do", not a foundational responsibility. "That is unacceptable. Damage to the Crown-Māori relationship is already being felt, and it will only get worse if this Bill goes ahead in its current form." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Regulatory Standards Bill will lead to 'inappropriate, dangerous' powers, claimants say
Māori lawyer Annette Sykes says the Crown has not provided a brief of evidence to the Tribunal over the Bill. Photo: RNZ / Patrice Allen Claimants in an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing say the ACT Party's Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB) is a more aggressive and stealthier version of the Treaty Principles Bill. Claimant lawyers presented their evidence to the Tribunal on Wednesday in a tight, online-only hearing that had to pushed forward by three weeks. Māori rights group Toitū te Tiriti has been campaigning on social media to raise awareness about the bill, warning its introduction into the law would diminish the Crown's obligations to the Treaty of Waitangi and asking for people to join their claim to the Tribunal. Māori lawyer Tania Waikato, who represents the group, told the Tribunal the bill would make it impossible for legislation adhering to the Treaty to be accepted by the government. "They are setting up a framework which creates, for all future legislation plus all existing legislation, [means] they will fail every time. You'll have a proposition where the minister has to explain the Treaty provision - they have to explain why." Waikato said the bill handed too much power to the Ministry of Regulation and the proposed Regulatory Standards Board. "The constitutional and wide-ranging nature of the RSB and the suite of powers proposed to be granted to the minister, the ministerially appointed Regulatory Standards Board and the ministry are inappropriate, dangerous, and raise sincere questions about constitutional overreach," Waikato said. The hearing into the bill joins a long list of urgent inquiries facilitated by the Tribunal since the coalition government came into power. Te Roopu Waiora lawyer Tom Bennion said submitters on the bill felt uncertain about what the principles of the bill were. "We find all but one of the principles - the one about taxing I think - they state from the Crown Law Office, from the legislative design committee and from submitters generally. Great uncertainty, major uncertainty," Bennion said. The hearing was originally for 6 June but had to be pushed forward, meaning only the claimant's lawyers were able to provide evidence. The bill is set to be introduced to Parliament on 19 May, meaning the Tribunal will lose its jurisdiction to scrutinise it. It meant the Tribunal had to cut the usual proceedings down to one day, facilitate it online, and restrict evidence submission to claimants lawyers only. Māori lawyer Annette Sykes said it was a reoccurring issue. "One of the key things I think we believe that the Tribunal has to grapple is the way that the Crown has not provided a brief of evidence to the Tribunal." Sykes said the 6 June date was dismissed by cabinet. ACT Party leader David Seymour said many of the arguments raised by opponents to the bill were similar some raised when it a version of it was put forward 15 years ago. Seymour said putting a reference to the Treaty into the bill would undermine one of its core principles, which was equal rights for all under the law. "The bill says that all New Zealanders have a right to live under a government that asks and answers the right questions before it regulates their property rights." "It's not obvious how introducing the Treaty into that would help, it certainly wouldn't clarify it. If anything, it would further confuse it," Seymour said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Waitangi Tribunal already doing exactly what it was originally intended to do, Treaty law experts say
Members of Te Rūnanga Nui, the Waitangi Tribunal and the Ministry of Education being welcomed onto Hoani Waititi Marae in 2023. Photo: Pokere Paewai / RNZ Treaty law experts say the Waitangi Tribunal is already doing exactly what it was originally intended to do. A government review announced last week - part of the coalition agreement between New Zealand First and National - is set to refocus the "scope, purpose and nature" of the Tribunal's inquiries back to its "original intent". The review will be led by an Independent Technical Advisory Group of four chaired by Bruce Gray KC. The other members of the group are lawyer and former Waitangi Tribunal member David Cochrane, Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa chief executive Dion Tuuta and senior public servant and former chief executive of Te Kohanga Reo National Trust Kararaina Calcott-Cribb. Te Hunga Rōia Māori, the Māori Law Society co-president Natalie Coates said it would be a big task to conduct a wide sweeping review within the timeframe. Engagement on the review will begin in mid-2025 and advice will be provided to ministers by September. Coates was not adverse to an independent review taking place, given it has been 50 years, but she said there was a deep scepticism amongst the Māori community given the government's approach to te Tiriti and Māori issues in general. When the Waitangi Tribunal was set up in 1975, it did not have the ability to look backwards, so the original conception of the Tribunal was to respond to contemporary breaches of te Tiriti or Waitangi, she said. Natalie Coates. Photo: Tania Niwa "I guess I've been a little bit confused about that kind of wording or at least find it interesting and curious because I think what the Tribunal is currently doing is actually focusing on and doing what they were originally set up to do." Coates said even though its recommendations weren't binding the Tribunal played a critical role as a check and balance on Crown power. "It should be a good thing to know whether the Crown is breaching te Tiriti o Waitangi so that informed decisions can be made, and I think the idea being [thrown] around of them being activist is just not true. "They're doing the job that they were set up to do, and they're doing so with the kind of the full intellectual rigour that applies in those spaces." Treaty Law scholar Carwyn Jones said he hadn't seen the full terms of reference for the review beyond the statement's by Minister Tama Potaka, and what was contained within National and New Zealand First's coalition agreement to refocus the Tribunal back to its "original intent." "I was always a bit confused by that because as far as I could tell, the Tribunal was doing exactly what was originally intended. "Its original intent was that it would focus on current or contemporary crown actions or policy," he said. The Tribunal had played a crucial role over this term of government in scrutinising Crown policy for its impact particularly on Māori, he said. "What we see is that the government doesn't like the Tribunal asking questions about quite basic things around good government, about what is your policy intended to do, what's the problem you're trying to solve, have you looked at options, do you know what the impact of it is? "All of these things the Tribunal is making transparent that the government has no answers to across a whole range of policy so of course the government doesn't like that." Treaty Law scholar Carwyn Jones. Photo: RNZ That's a sentiment that Coates echoed. "I mean, no government really loves the Tribunal because their whole purpose is to tell it what it's doing wrong on a treaty front," she said. Jones said David Seymour's comments about the Tribunal becoming "increasingly activist" showed that from the government's perspective, the Tribunal had been too effective in holding the government to account. "We've seen that time and again through a whole range of government policy, whether it's the removal of section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act or whether it's through Māori wards or even this review itself, the government has not defined what the problem is... because all it is is this kind of 'government by vibe' this evidence free policy development." As a permanent Commission of Inquiry, the Tribunal actually had a lot of flexibility about its own process and had been very agile and adaptive in changing to meet different needs across its 50 year history, he said. "So the Tribunal itself is making those changes, it's constantly reviewing what it's doing and whether it's working. "So I don't think it's particularly helpful for the government to be doing this, really all the Tribunal needs is more support and resources for it to more effectively deliver." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Regulatory Standards Bill : Claimant group wants urgent hearing before bill is taken to Cabinet
Thousands marched in a hīkoi protesting against the Treaty Principles Bill in November. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker A group who won an urgent hearing at the Waitangi Tribunal to raise their concerns about the Regulatory Standards Bill want it brought forward now the bill is being taken to Cabinet in 10 days. Toitū te Tiriti, a claimant group with more than 12,000 registered members, also wants ACT leader David Seymour summonsed to answer questions about the bill which they claim - if enacted - would breach Te Tiriti and cause significant prejudice to Māori. In a memo to the Tribunal, the group outlined through its lawyers Tamaki Legal, that it wanted the urgent hearing brought forward after learning on Wednesday from the Crown that Cabinet would "proceed with authorising the bill for introduction to the House" on 19 May. Tamaki Legal said the urgency was "completely attributable to the Crown's extremely late notification of the pending Cabinet decision, despite months of waiting for this information to be provided". The hearing had been set down for 6 June but Toitū te Tiriti, the group behind last year's Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti, want it brought forward to a one-day online hearing on 13 May. The memo stated the group want Seymour, as Minister for Regulation, to front at the hearing to answer questions from both the Tribunal and the claimants. "The minister is an appropriate witness since his was the directing mind behind the Regulatory Standards Bill policy recently adopted by the Crown," the memo said. "It is for the minister to explain why he is proceeding with the bill against the advice of his own ministry. "It is for the minister to explain why Te Tiriti was entirely omitted from the bill and why it has been breached multiple times during the consultation process. "It is for the minister to explain why there was no direct engagement with Māori on this bill, despite the fundamental and significant constitutional impacts this bill will have on Te Tiriti and the Crown/Māori relationship." A discussion document on the matter had been open for consultation to inform the drafting of the legislation. It included a set of principles outlining what constituted "responsible regulation", including rule of law, liberties, taking of property, taxes, fees and levies, role of courts, good law-making and regulatory stewardship. A preliminary Treaty Impact Analysis conducted for the proposed bill noted it did not include a principle related to Te Tiriti and its role as part of good law-making. Earlier this week Seymour said the Regulatory Standards Bill would "help New Zealand get its mojo back" by shining a light on bad lawmaking. The bill was part of the National-Act coalition agreement and the legislation had been 20 years in the making, following three failed attempts to make it law. Seymour said the bill's intention was to "improve the quality of regulation" by codifying principles of "good regulatory practice". "In a nutshell, if red tape is holding us back, because politicians find regulating politically rewarding, then we need to make regulating less rewarding for politicians with more sunlight on their activities." The bill would create a "benchmark for good legislation" through those principles, he said. And it would require those making legislation to openly assess how that legislation was consistent with the principles. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
