GOVERNMENT'S LAST ACT IS ANOTHER ATTACK ON TE TIRITI - Te Pāti Māori

GOVERNMENT'S LAST ACT IS ANOTHER ATTACK ON TE TIRITI

Published by

September 15, 2026

In its final days, this Government is trying to strip Te Tiriti from our laws.

Three Treaty-related Bills before Parliament would weaken Te Tiriti protections and reduce Crown accountability. Te Pāti Māori opposes every one of them.

Instead, Te Pāti Māori are calling for Te Tiriti to be protected through enforceable Crown obligations that no Government can simply discard.

Our Te Tiriti Entrenchment Policy would establish an independent Te Tiriti Commission, make Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding, restore a national UNDRIP implementation plan, and resource Māori-led constitutional transformation. These reforms are designed to move Crown responsibility under Te Tiriti from political discretion to enforceable legal obligation. Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Rawiri Waititi said the timing was telling.

"The irony is that these Bills are being pushed during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.

"This Government celebrates te reo with one hand while removing Te Tiriti from our laws with the other. It is the oldest coloniser trick in the book: celebrate Māori culture while undermining Māori rights.

"The clock is running out for this Government, so they are trying to squeeze through one last attack on Te Tiriti before voters have the chance to remove them.

"Whether they call it repeal, standardisation, or reducing obligations, the outcome is the same: less accountability to Te Tiriti and more power for governments to ignore it.

"We do not support repeal. We support entrenchment."

Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said voters faced a clear choice.

"This Government sees Te Tiriti as a problem to be managed. We see Te Tiriti as the foundation of this country.

"In their final days they could be focused on the cost of living, housing, healthcare and the real pressures facing whānau. Instead, they have chosen another attack on Te Tiriti.

"Parliament did not create Te Tiriti and does not get to define its mana. But Parliament can, and must, bind the Crown to honour it.

"Our responsibility is to honour the commitments made to our tīpuna and deliver on them for our mokopuna."

Mr Waititi said this election presents a defining choice.

"This election is a choice between a Government trying to write Te Tiriti out of law and a movement determined to uphold it, protect it, and hold the Crown accountable to it."

Te Pāti Māori is calling on all whānau to enrol on the Māori roll and vote for a future where Te Tiriti is protected, not weakened.

GOVERNMENT'S LAST ACT IS ANOTHER ATTACK ON TE TIRITI preview image

GOVERNMENT'S LAST ACT IS ANOTHER ATTACK ON TE TIRITI

In its final days, this Government is trying to strip Te Tiriti from our laws. Three Treaty-related Bills before Parliament would weaken Te Tiriti protections and reduce Crown accountability. Te Pāti Māori opposes every one of them. Instead, Te Pāti Māori are calling for Te Tiriti to be protected through enforceable Crown obligations that no Government can simply discard.

TE PĀTI MĀORI LAUNCHES TE TIRITI ENTRENCHMENT POLICY preview image

TE PĀTI MĀORI LAUNCHES TE TIRITI ENTRENCHMENT POLICY

Te Pāti Māori has today launched its Te Tiriti Entrenchment Policy, a major constitutional reform package that will make Crown obligations arising from Te Tiriti legally enforceable and resource the next stage of Māori-led constitutional transformation. “Te Tiriti is the constitutional foundation of Aotearoa. Its mana does not rise and fall depending on who forms the Government,” Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Rawiri Waititi said. “Our policy is about certainty, accountability and making sure the Crown keeps its promises.”

MP for Hauraki-Waikato Hana-Rawhiti Calls on Govt to Honour its Commitments to Waikato and Waipaa Awa preview image

MP for Hauraki-Waikato Hana-Rawhiti Calls on Govt to Honour its Commitments to Waikato and Waipaa Awa

Hauraki-Waikato MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke says the Government’s decision to delay key provisions of Plan Change 1, which sets rules to protect and restore the health of the Waikato and Waipaa awa, puts 3-yearly electoral interests ahead of its obligations to iwi and the environment. “This is bigger than a plan or a process. It is about whether the Crown will keep its word to Waikato-Tainui and honour the commitments it made – and written into legislation” says Maipi-Clarke. “The power of Te Ture Whaimana is that it can override other pieces of legislation. It sits at the heart of the Waikato-Tainui Treaty settlement and establishes a clear obligation to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of our awa.

Luxon chose culture wars while basic services failed preview image

Luxon chose culture wars while basic services failed

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Oriini Kaipara MP extends aroha following fatal workplace incident in Ōtāhuhu preview image

Oriini Kaipara MP extends aroha following fatal workplace incident in Ōtāhuhu

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Te Pati Maori will make the Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding preview image

Te Pati Maori will make the Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding

Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Rawiri Waititi says New Zealand First's call to review the Waitangi Tribunal proves the coalition has learnt nothing from the Tribunal's latest report. "The Waitangi Tribunal has found that the Government's Treaty clause review is a major breach of Te Tiriti. Instead of fixing the breach, Shane Jones wants to investigate the institution that exposed it." Waititi says this is about far more than constitutional law.

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Government rips up another promise of partnership with Māori preview image

Government rips up another promise of partnership with Māori

Te Pāti Māori Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says the Government’s reported decision to scrap existing Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements is not planning reform it’s another deliberate step in dismantling the Crown’s relationship with tangata whenua. “This Government isn’t just rewriting planning law. It is rewriting the place of Māori in Aotearoa.” “One law at a time, one institution at a time, one agreement at a time, they are removing the practical ways Te Tiriti is honoured.”

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MFAT Must Act Urgently to Free Everlee Wihongi After Another Delayed Hearing

Everlee Wihongi was set to appear in court today to be freed from ICE detention. Unfortunately, approximately 80 minutes before it was scheduled to begin, the Immigration Court decided to postpone the hearing until June 30, 2026. ICE has no reason to continue to detain Everlee after the conviction that formed the basis of the immigration case was successfully overturned. Everlee has now been detained for over two months, and this is just the latest in a long line of unnecessary delays. “Our aroha goes out to Everlee Wihongi and the Wihongi whānau in the face of this incredibly frustrating and disappointing development” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer