Review of Treaty clauses in legislation

2/09/2025·3 min read

Review of Treaty clauses in legislation

In July 2025, the Government confirmed the 23 laws in scope for a comprehensive review of legislation that references “the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi”. This is likely to have significant implications for public decision-makers, Crown-Māori relations, and Māori interests, should the review proceed to legislative reform.

What is the review?

The review initially targeted 28 laws, dating back to 1986, with the aim of either replacing Treaty references with more specific language or removing them entirely. The review is part of the coalition agreement between NZ First and National Party that commits the Government to replace all such references with specific words relating to the relevance and application of the Treaty or repeal the references entirely.

In July 2025, the review was reduced to 23 statutes. It includes key legislation relating to a broad range of areas of law, including heath care, local government care of children, climate change, water services, data and statistics, and education. Click here to view the legislation currently in scope of the review.

Several statutes have been removed from the review due to their complexity and the risk of undermining settled Māori rights. These include:

The Conservation Act 1987 and Crown Minerals Act 1991. These are currently under review in a separate parallel process run by the relevant government agency.
Resource Management Act 1991. It is undergoing a re-write which includes changing Treaty of Waitangi provisions to make them less general and a more specific recognition of Treaty settlements.
Public Finance Act 1989. It was excluded on the basis that it related to Treaty settlements or specific Crown-Māori agreements.

The Waitangi Tribunal has found that the Crown’s Treaty clause review policy breaches the principles of partnership, active protection, equity, redress, good government, and the article 2 guarantee of rangatiratanga. The Tribunal noted that the policy was predetermined, lacked engagement with Māori, and would result in amendments to or repeals of Treaty clauses, thereby reducing protections for Māori and limiting their ability to realise Treaty rights through the justice system.^[1] A key example is section 4 of the Conservation Act 1987, which is deeply embedded in the Treaty settlement framework.^[2] This embedding is both statutory and functional: section 4 imposes a legal obligation on the Department of Conservation to give effect to the principles of the Treaty, and many settlements rely on this obligation to support co-management, access, and cultural redress arrangements involving the conservation estate.^[3]^[4] Amending section 4 could destabilise the legal foundation of those agreements and undermine the integrity of the settlement framework.

Commentary on the review of the Treaty clauses

The review has raised significant concerns across government agencies about the feasibility of meaningful engagement with iwi and hapū on Crown/Māori relations^[5].

Critics argue that the review risks eroding the Māori-Crown relationship and diminishing the role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in public law^[6]. While the Government maintains that Māori views are diverse and consultation will be broad, the removal of general Treaty principles may reduce the flexibility that courts and agencies currently rely on to uphold Māori interests.

The review continues to include legislation such as the Education and Training Act 2020, where the interpretation and application of Treaty clauses remain a legally and politically charged issue.

Next steps

The Government has established a ministerial oversight group and an expert advisory panel to guide in-principle decisions before broader consultation. The process is now expected to extend into mid-2026, with parallel reviews for more complex legislation, such as the Conservation Act 1987 and the Crown Minerals Act 1991.

Public decision-makers and Māori, particularly those in legal, policy, and governance roles, should monitor this review closely. It has implications for Treaty jurisprudence, statutory interpretation, and the durability of Treaty settlement arrangements. Any changes to Treaty clauses must be assessed not only for legal coherence but also for their impact on social cohesion, constitutional integrity, and the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.