Waitangi Tribunal grants urgent inquiry into NZ Treaty clause review

The Waitangi Tribunal has granted an urgent inquiry into the New Zealand Government’s review of Treaty clauses in legislation, marking a significant escalation in the dispute over Te Tiriti o Waitangi protections.

The decision was released on Wednesday, 6 May 2026. The Tribunal found the application from Northland iwi Ngāti Hine met the high threshold required for urgency.

The inquiry has been named Te Tinihanga o Ngā Mātāpono o te Tiriti – the Treaty Principles Reform Urgent Inquiry. The original claim by Ngāti Hine has since been joined by 18 other interested parties including Toitū Te Tiriti, the National Iwi Chairs Forum, the Māori Women’s Welfare League and the New Zealand Māori Council.

The Tribunal will examine Cabinet decisions taken in February 2026 to repeal Treaty principles clauses from several pieces of legislation including the Education and Training Act, the Land Transport Management Act, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, the Organic Products and Production Act and the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act.

Other clauses are proposed to be reduced to a lower legal threshold, requiring decision-makers only to take into account Treaty principles.

In its decision, the Tribunal said the proposed reforms could cause “significant and irreversible prejudice” to Māori if they proceeded without scrutiny.

Ngāti Hine kaumātua and veteran broadcaster Waihoroi Shortland said the inquiry was a major moment for Māori and for the future of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in Aotearoa. He said proposed changes to Treaty clauses across legislation could weaken Crown obligations to Māori and reduce legal protections built over decades.

The claimants allege the reforms have been developed without regard to tino rangatiratanga, the Crown-Māori partnership and the likely inequitable impacts on Māori.

The Tribunal had previously recommended the Treaty clause review be halted and redesigned in partnership with Māori in its earlier inquiry known as Wai 3300, which examined the Treaty Principles Bill. It found the Government had pressed ahead despite those recommendations.

In legal filings, lawyers for Ngāti Hine said the Crown’s decisions were “an inappropriate exercise of its authority” and undermined tino rangatiratanga.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith have rejected calls from iwi leaders and Māori groups to halt the review. The Government maintains the reforms are about creating consistency and clarity across legislation. Mr Goldsmith’s office said he could not comment as the matter was now before the Tribunal.

A date for the hearing has not been set. The Tribunal has given parties until the end of May to file evidence.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia watching the New Zealand process, the inquiry comes at a significant moment. Negotiations between the Victorian Government and the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria are progressing and other states and territories continue work on their own paths to treaty and truth-telling.

Sources

• Te Ao Māori News – Waitangi Tribunal grants urgent inquiry into Treaty clause review
• Waatea News – Urgent Treaty Inquiry Sparks Fresh Fight Over Te Tiriti Protections
• Newsroom – Full list of Treaty clause cuts and changes revealed