Thousands submitted their thoughts on the Treaty Principles Bill. Photo: Screenshot
Parliament has unanimously agreed to allow all submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill to be added to the public record, after a last-minute motion was moved by ACT MP Todd Stephenson.
It comes after thousands of submissions were to be excluded from the record because staff did not have enough time to process them, raising concerns about cynicism when it comes to engaging with democracy.
On Thursday afternoon, Stephenson sought leave to move a motion "without notice or debate".
"That the Justice Committee be authorised to table and release or return submissions on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, as if the bill were still before the committee, after it has reported the bill to the House."
The motion was agreed to, and the ACT Party said it means "all submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill will be read, processed, and added to the permanent public record".
He explained select committees have to report bills within a certain period, and once they're reported to the House, "any submissions that haven't been tabled and released actually don't necessarily form part of the record".
He said because of the overwhelming number of submissions, "they weren't going to be able to process in time for when it would be reported back" and this is a "procedural way" of making sure those submissions will stay as part of the permanent record with the bill.
But Labour said the Justice Select Committee is expected to report back on the Treaty Principles Bill on Friday - more than a month ahead of time.
Justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said the committee had "rammed it through with outrageous haste" and the early report would exclude those thousands of submissions.
Stephenson said various options were canvassed, but the bill "had to be reported back within a certain time frame."
"No extension was granted for that, so this was an option that seemed appropriate, that was proper democracy."
When asked how the quality of the report would be impacted given it was being sent back a month ahead of the final date specified, Stephenson wouldn't comment because there are "restrictions" on what can be said.
"I think it'd be best if we talk about the report once it is tabled in the house."
Webb supported the motion, because the party agrees all submissions should be on the public record, so he could not "reasonably oppose the motion."
But he said he's frustrated it came as a surprise, and Stephenson should have "raised the fact he was going to seek leave".
"We would have pushed that the motion should be debated."
Webb said it's another example of "poor procedure avoiding a thorough examination of the issues and sweeping it under the carpet."
Labour's Māori development spokesperson Willie Jackson said it's "incredibly important" all submissions are seen, given it's been such a "big process."
"You might have the ACT Party now finally, [sic] bit of guilt coming over them - they're the ones who waffle on constantly about the democratic process, now there's an opportunity."
Jackson said a lot of people will be happy, as "they do not want their submissions wasted."
National MP and chair of the Justice Committee overseeing the Treaty Principles Bill, James Meager, said he's disappointed it's taken this long to get "certainty".
"I am glad to see that the House has agreed with the unanimous recommendation of the Justice Committee made a few weeks ago, supported by all parties."
On 6 March, the committee resolved to send a letter to the Business Committee to "seek authority from the House to continue to table and release or return submissions" on the Bill after the committee has issued its final report on the bill.
Meager said this was the "most appropriate solution" but Labour blocked that solution once it got to Business Committee from "going through earlier".
Labour believed the most appropriate course of action was to seek an extension.
Meager pointed out that request would have been to extend the report back date to an "undetermined time as proposed by Duncan Webb".
That occurred on 20 March, where Webb moved "the committee seek an extension of time to report back date on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill until such time as all submissions are available to members."
Opposition members voted in support, while government members voted against.
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