Human Rights Commission Warns Treaty Clause Overhaul Increases Legal Uncertainty

Craig
McCulloch

The Human Rights Commission (HRC) is
urging the government to scrap its planned
amendment of Te Tiriti o Waitangi clauses, warning it
could create more confusion and deepen division.

In a
submission
published on Tuesday, the Commission said the
government’s proposals were “constitutionally regressive”
and risked weakening Treaty protections.

In May,
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the coalition would
change or remove references to the Treaty
of Waitangi in 19 pieces of legislation “in the
interests of increasing certainty and supporting
compliance”.

But HRC Indigenous Governance Partner
Dayle Takitimu said it would have the opposite
effect.

Human Rights Commission Indigenous Governance
Partner Dayle Takitimu.

Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human
Rights Commission

“The government said it wants
clarity, but many Māori, legal experts, the Waitangi
Tribunal, the Human Rights Commission, and international
bodies say the review risks doing the opposite: weakening
protections, reducing accountability, and increasing
conflict.

“Achieving clarity – if that is the aim of
the exercise – doesn’t require watering down obligations to
the bare minimum.

“Certainty and clarity are better
achieved by following agreed human rights standards which
support honouring treaties and respecting Indigenous
peoples’ human rights.”

The Commission concluded that
the government’s plan downgraded Te Tiriti obligations and
was “likely to increase, not reduce, uncertainty and
litigation risk.”

The changes risked intensifying
racial tension and harming Crown-Māori relations, it
said.

It also criticised the review, which recommended
the changes, saying Māori had not been properly consulted
throughout.

The review was secured by New Zealand
First during coalition negotiations with National after the
last election.

The Commission called on the government
to abandon its changes and instead work with Māori on any
replacement.

“Te Tiriti is not a side issue or a
drafting inconvenience; it is part of the constitutional and
human rights foundation of Aotearoa,” Takitimu
said.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. (File
photo)

RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

In a statement,
Goldsmith said the coalition did not agree or accept that
its actions amount to “lowering the threshold of Treaty
obligations”.

In May, the government announced it
would remove references to the Treaty principles in seven
pieces of legislation.

Another 10 would be watered
down, and two made “more specific”.

At the time,
Goldsmith said iwi would be consulted, and all New
Zealanders could have their say through the select committee
process.

“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’,” Goldsmith
said.

“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.”

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