The Waitangi Tribunal has found the Crown breached the treaty principles of partnership, active protection and good government in their approach to changing legal obligations to the Treaty in education, causing prejudice against Māori.
The report came about in the wake of the government’s sweeping review of legislation containing Treaty clauses.
The inquiry into proposals to amend treaty provisions in the Education and Training Act 2020 was filed by Ngāti Hine, Te Kapotai and education union NZEI Te Riu Roa.
The tribunal found that Cabinet moved on the proposals despite repeated advice from officials that there was insufficient time for an in-depth analysis, that not enough was known about the potential impact of the proposed changes, and that an underdeveloped regulatory impact statement was insufficient for ministers to make an informed decision.
Recommendations
The tribunal recommends the Crown halts the advancement of proposed reforms “immediately” to repair the Māori-Crown relationship, and engage meaningfully with Māori in the co-design of treaty provisions if changes are then “objectively needed” to the Education and Training Act 2020.
The tribunal noted Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith’s approach to the National Iwi Chairs Forum and said engaging with a “singular national Māori body” was a “treaty-inconsistent course”.
The tribunal said the Justice Minister’s view that select committee was a sufficient opportunity to provide input was inadequate and an insult to Māori, and that the Crown demonstrated a “reckless disregard” to its relationship with Māori.
1News has requested a response from Goldsmith
The Tribunal’s stage two report will be focused on the removal of schools boards’ treaty obligations and the curriculum reforms.
Treaty references amended
Overall the Government is set to amend 19 pieces of legislation to ensure references to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are "clear and consistent", Goldsmith confirmed today.
Goldsmith said the decision was made to achieve more consistency.
"Over the last 30 or 40 years, Parliament has made all sorts of references to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Sometimes it’s ‘honour’, or ‘have regard to’, or ‘give effect to’, or ‘take into account’," he said in a statement today.
"We need to create some consistency here, in the interests of increasing certainty and supporting compliance. A core foundation of our success as a nation is predictability in the law."
He previously told 1News he didn't accept that the proposed threshold was too low.
SHARE ME