A leaked paper from the Ministry of Justice says the coalition Government’s proposed legislation to define the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi could be “highly contentious”. 

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi posted an image of one page of the document to social media early this morning, encouraging his followers to let the document “fuel ... our fire”, a reference to his party’s opposition to several Māori-focused policies of the new Government. 

A leaked paper from the Ministry of Justice says the coalition Government’s proposed legislation to define the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi could be “highly contentious”. Photo / Instagram @rawiri_waititi 

It comes on the eve of a national hui, organised by the Māori King, at Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia to unify Māori and discuss the potential impact of those policies. 

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith confirmed to the Herald that the ministry would investigate the leak. He said the document was a draft that had not yet been considered by the Cabinet. 

The idea for a Treaty Principles Bill came from the Act Party and was agreed in its coalition deal with National. Leader David Seymour believed there was a need to clarify the meaning of the principles. 

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said National would support the bill to the select committee stage, indicating it would not continue its support beyond that. 

Waititi’s post showed advice, reportedly from the Justice Ministry, that suggested the bill could be highly contentious given the “fundamental constitutional nature of the subject matter” and the “lack of consultation with the public on the policy development prior to select committee”. 

It included three proposed new principles based on the articles in the Treaty: 

-the New Zealand Government has the right to govern all New Zealanders 

-the New Zealand Government will honour all New Zealanders in the chieftainship of their land and all their property 

-all New Zealanders are equal under the law with the same rights and duties 

Kīngi Tūheitia (left) has called a national hui at Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia to unify Māori and discuss the potential impact of Government policies. Photo / George Novak 

1News, reporting to have the full document, claimed the ministry advised that the bill risked conflicting with the “rights or interests of Māori under the Treaty because it is not derived from the spirit of the text of the Treaty”. 

“Developing a bill that purports to settle the Treaty principles without working with the Treaty partner could be seen as one partner (the Crown) attempting to define what the Treaty means and the obligations it creates,” the document said. 

It also raised the likelihood the bill could breach international agreements, according to 1News. 

“The bill may be seen as discriminatory and contrary to certain binding international standards such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 

“In addition, the bill removes an effective measure in our legal system to enforce the right of Māori to exercise self-determination, and cultural aspirations in the international standards and obligations above.” 

Seymour, who is also Regulations Minister, told the Herald the advice was a “natural reaction” from a bureaucracy that had “presided over increasing division over these issues”. 

Act leader David Seymour is driving support for a debate over the Treaty principles. Photo / Dean Purcell 

Challenged on whether he believed the advice was biased, Seymour said he didn’t. However, he said it was clear New Zealand had become more divided over matters of race and the Government had inherited a bureaucracy in which there was “residual sentiment” that change and open debate on this topic was wrong. 

Of Waititi’s leak, he said the Te Pāti Māori co-leader had regularly shown “no respect” for democratic institutions. Seymour encouraged more public discussion of the Treaty. 

Goldsmith said: “Nobody ever wants leaked documents.” 

He confirmed he had full confidence in his officials while recognising there was always a “bit of turbulence” within the public service when there was a change of government. 

Asked whether there would be any consultation on the bill before it entered the House, Goldsmith didn’t rule it out, saying: “All those decisions haven’t been made.” 

However, Seymour said it was very rare for consultation to occur before a select committee stage and believed Act’s two-year campaign for such legislation provided the opportunity for the public to discuss it. 

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said she was “neither bothered nor surprised” by Seymour’s reaction to the advice, but was critical of his comments about the public service, saying it was innappropriate given his role as a minister. 

She agreed with the advice and questioned why Luxon and National would show any level of support for the proposed bill. 

“If this Government lets this bill and anything that David Seymour has to do [with] undoing the status of tangata whenua and whakapapa as identied in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, I believe that Māori will bring this Government to its knees. 

“I think the Prime Minister has grossly underestimated the scale of Māori collectivism ths scale of the Māori economy.” 

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.