The Justice Select Committee has called for joint
submissions on three bills.
At this stage, no closing
date has been set for submissions, but the public is
encouraged to share their views by 1 December 2026, so that
submissions can be processed and ready for the next
Parliament as soon as one is formed.
The online
submissions portal will remain active through the 2026
General Election period (the “interregnum”), until a new
Justice Committee is convened in the next term of
Parliament. The new committee will decide when to close the
submissions portal. Any documents uploaded to the
submissions portal during the interregnum will be provided
to the new committee.
Submissions cover all
bills
The committee acknowledges that the three bills
are closely related, and that many submitters will likely
wish to comment on all bills. As such, the committee has
taken the approach of issuing one joint call for
submissions. Submissions made through this portal can
discuss one or multiple bills. You do not need to make a
separate submission on each bill. All submissions will be
counted towards all bills.
Suggestion for structuring
submissions
If commenting on some or all bills, a
useful way to structure submissions could be to have
“parts” in your submission. For example:
• part
1: high-level views on the policy intent of the overall
reform package
• part 2: comments on any shared
provisions in the bills
• part 3: feedback on
clauses in the References to Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of
Waitangi (Standardisation) Amendment Bill and
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• part
4: feedback on clauses in the References to Tiriti o
Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Repeals) Amendment Bill
and
• part 5: feedback on clauses in the References
to Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Strength of
Legislative Obligations) Amendment Bill.
This is a
suggestion only. Committee members look forward to receiving
public feedback on the bills, regardless of how you choose
to structure your submission.
Inappropriate
submission content
Submissions should not contain
racist material, offensive language, or allegations,
threats, or offensive personal attacks against members of
Parliament. Anonymity is generally not afforded to
submitters without appropriate reasons. Please contact
committee staff if you would like to request
anonymity.
About the bills
The three bills are
omnibus bills, which would amend several different Acts.
Together, the bills aim to make changes that affect the way
that Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi is given
legal effect in law.
The References to Tiriti
o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Standardisation) Amendment
Bill seeks to implement standardised drafting to
descriptive Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi provisions
and references to the Treaty without substantively changing
their legal effect. It would do so by:
•
standardising references to the Treaty to include a
reference to both the Treaty of Waitangi and te Tiriti o
Waitangi in all instances and retaining references to Treaty
principles
• reducing variation between descriptive
Treaty provisions by adopting a standard form descriptive
Treaty clause
• standardising minor and technical
drafting discrepancies to ensure consistency between
provisions.
The References to Tiriti o
Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Repeals) Amendment Bill
seeks to repeal statutory references to the
principles of te Tiriti of Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi
from the:
• Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998
•
Education and Training Act 2020
• Energy Efficiency
and Conservation Act 2000
• Organic Products and
Production Act 2023
• Plant Variety Rights Act
2022
• Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products
Act 1990.
The References to Tiriti o
Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Strength of Legislative
Obligations) Amendment Bill proposes to amend
the:
• Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Act
2020
• Water Services Authority—Taumata Arowai Act
2020
• Criminal Cases Review Commission Act
2019
• Education and Training Act 2020.
The
bill seeks to standardise Treaty provisions that impose or
refer to obligations, so that they are consistent across the
statute book. It would do so by changing these provisions to
a single standard of “take into account”.
Tell
the Justice Committee what you think
Make a
submission on the bills.
Read the bills:
•
References to Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi
(Standardisation) Amendment Bill
• References to
Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Repeals) Amendment
Bill
• References to Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of
Waitangi (Strength of Legislative Obligations) Amendment
Bill
