Eru Kapa-Kingi addresses the crowd in Whangārei on day two of Hikoi mō Te Tiriti. He is spokesperson for the group which has now filed a Waitangi Tribunal Claim regarding the Regulatory Standards Bill. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
The group behind Te Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti says they have filed an urgent claim with the Waitangi Tribunal regarding the Regulatory Standards Bill.
The claim filed by Toitū te Tiriti alleges that, if enacted, the Regulatory Standards Bill will be a breach of Te Tiriti, and will cause significant prejudice to Māori now and for future generations to come.
The bill - part of National and ACT's coalition agreement - is not yet before Parliament, but seeks to impose 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.
Toitū Te Tiriti is asking people to sign up and support their claim - Tomokia ngā tatau o Matangireia.
In a video posted to social media, Toitū Te Tiriti kaikōrero Eru Kapa-Kingi congratulated the "Toitū nation" for the record number of submissions put forward to the Justice committee for the Treaty Principles Bill and urged them to keep that momentum going.
Speaking to RNZ, Kapa-Kingi said the claim was an opportunity for tangata whenua to use the Tribunal to stop the Regulatory Standards Bill in its tracks and "halt any constitutional influence" it might have.
The details of their case would be publicised more as it progressed and the claim filed to the Tribunal this week was a "high level overview" of the bill's constitutional ramifications, he said.
He claimed the bill was a "covert" form of constitutional transformation targeting regulations, entities and legislation which was centred around Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
"The use of regulatory frameworks, from our perspective, is deliberate. Regulations aren't in the public eye as much as central forms of legislation like statutes, etc.
"That is the general theory of the case. We have experts on constitutional law, who will be expanding this kaupapa."
ACT Party leader David Seymour pointed out The Regulatory Standards Bill had not been written yet.
"The basic idea is that politicians should have to tell New Zealanders what problem they're trying to solve before they introduce new red tape or interfere with property rights.
"By introducing more discipline and accountability to the lawmaking process, we raise the political cost of making bad laws. The outcome will be better laws, higher productivity, and higher wages for Kiwis."
Since the government took power in 2023, there have been a record six urgent inquiries undertaken by the Tribunal including inquiries into the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority, Oranga Tamariki, changes to the Foreshore and Seabed Act, and the Treaty Principles Bill.
The inquiries were sparked by policies that claimants argued would negatively affect Māori, to which the Tribunal agreed.
Read more about policies set to affect Māori:
- Waitangi Tribunal findings on customary marine title changes no surprise to iwi leader
- Waitangi Tribunal calls for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned in scathing report
- Te reo Māori in public sector Waitangi Tribunal inquiry gets underway
- Iwi Leaders Group united against Oranga Tamariki scrapping Treaty obligations
Kapa-Kingi said despite the government often ignoring the recommendations of the Tribunal, he still had hope their claim would have an impact.
"It is not lost on me that the Waitangi Tribunal has recently undergone a significant shuffle in terms of its membership. [It is] a government effort to stymie and slow down what they perceive as being a threat.
"[The Tribunal] can see better than anyone else what the government has been doing since it came into power as completely abhorrent in Tiriti terms."
The goal of Toitū te Tiriti was to form the largest class action lawsuit in New Zealand history.
"[This] is a moment for te iwi Māori, in our thousands, to be part of the kaupapa and put their name to this class action. If we can set a record for the biggest class action ever created, then that in itself is powerful for our longer pursuit for tino rangatiratanga which outspans any government term."
