HONOUR

TE tiriti

Coming soon: Māori Wards polls and
RSB oral submissions

What’s going on?

Over the last 18 months in Parliament there has been a continued pattern of undermining our foundation document, the Treaty of Waitangi | Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
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Following the huge efforts of the people of Aotearoa New Zealand, we can celebrate the voting down of the Treaty Principles Bill. Thousands of us marched, wrote submissions, signed petitions, wrote to MPs, spoke to the select committee and voiced our opposition to ACT's proposed set of principles. That hard mahi paid off and the Bill was defeated, dead and buried.
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Te Tiriti is Us began its work last year with a campaign focussing on the positive values of unity, aroha, sharing, fairness, promise keeping and partnership. But there's more work to be done. The latest attack on the Treaty of Waitangi and our rights as people living in Aotearoa, is the Regulatory Standards Bill, which has been pushed through urgency to its second reading in Parliament. The government did this under urgency on Budget Day to deflect attention to it.

The Regulatory Standards Bill is being described as the biggest constitutional change since the Treaty of Waitangi | Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed in 1840. However, most people don't know it's happening. Essentially it's a constitutional change without the consent of the people.
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Over 130,000 submissions were made on the Regulatory Standards Bill. Submissions are now closed and are before the Select Committee. We are now waiting to hear about oral submission times and dates.

Make a submission Message your MP

The bill is not what Aotearoa New Zealand needs

We've been here before and voted no!

The Regulatory Standards Bill, another ACT proposal, would require all laws – past, present and future – to be tested against a set of principles.

These principles are: the rule of law, personal liberty, individual property rights, taxes, fees and levies, the role of the courts and good lawmaking. They may sound okay but they are sneaky. For example, “every person is equal before the law” might seem good, but it’s about equal treatment not equity, not equal outcomes, not fairness, not restoring justice.

The principles are selective and do not align with generally accepted New Zealand legal values (Regulatory Impact Statement, page 5).
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You can read the proposed bill in its entirety on the Parliament website:
Regulatory Standards Bill

ACT doesn't have the mandate to change our founding document

With only one in 12 people (8%) voting for ACT at the last election, they don't have the public mandate to pass law that fundamentally alters the interpretation of our founding document.

Under this legislation, a board, chosen by David Seymour, would assess how well laws align with ACT's principles.

The Regulatory Standards Bill would give huge power to Seymour's Ministry for Regulation to affect New Zealand's laws to ensure they align with his principles.

ACT's bill lacks good faith

The Regulatory Standards Bill makes no mention of the already established principles of the Treaty of Waitangi | Te Tiriti o Waitangi. There is no mention or consideration of:
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+ fairness, equity or equality of outcomes
+ the environmental protection and sustainability
+ community, society, safety or human rights
+ Government's responsibilities.
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Instead, the bill promotes:
+ property rights over human rights
+ far-right US policies
+ making decisions behind closed doors
+ big business over the environment
+ abolishing the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi | Te Tiriti o Waitangi
+ spending $20 million per annum with no cost-benefit analysis.
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What are the Treaty Principles?

These core principles have been recognised by the courts, in legislation, and in Waitangi Tribunal reports over the past 50 years:

Active protection

Article 2 of the treaty guarantees Māori can organise as iwi and manage their own resources within our government framework. Safeguarding a resource base, realising Māori aspirations, and actively protecting taonga are part of recognising tino rangatiratanga.

Equity

This requires the Crown to commit to achieving equitable outcomes for Māori, for example in health, education and employment. All New Zealanders are equal under the law, free from discrimination. Equity differs from equality. Equity is when everyone can benefit equally from living in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Mutual benefit

Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti signed the Treaty/te Tiriti both expecting to benefit from the arrangement. Mutual benefit requires the needs of both partners to be met, and the rights and values of both to be honoured. Getting this balance right may involve some compromises.

Participation and options

The Crown accepted a duty to provide Māori with viable options to participate in ways that are appropriate for their needs and circumstances, along with access to mainstream services. For example social housing on a papakāinga model where a group of houses on whenua Māori work as a community under tikanga Māori (Māori way of doing things).

Partnership

The Treaty/te Tiriti is a contract between the Crown and rangatira Māori. Both have a duty to act fairly, reasonably, honourably and in good faith towards one another, and to cooperate on major issues of common concern.

Redress

The Crown has provided a process for the resolution of grievances. Where the Treaty principles have been broken, the Crown must recognise and make amends for the wrongdoing. This might mean an apology, or compensation, or the return of land or resources.

Have your say

The Regulatory Standards Bill passed its first reading in Parliament under urgency on Wednesday 21 May 2025. The bill is now with the Finance and Expenditure Committee.
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Submissions are now closed. We are waiting to hear about oral submission times and dates.
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You can also voice a loud NO to the Regulatory Standards Bill by filling in the form and sending an email to your MP in opposition to the bill.

If you want to send an old-fashioned paper letter to an MP, it's free. Use this address:
‍Freepost Parliament,
Private Bag 18 888,
Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160.

Send a message to your MP

Write your own message or use the one we've written for you:

Thank you! Your submission has been received!

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Other ways to take action

Kia kaha! More ways you can show your opposition to this bill:

Submissions

The Finance and Expenditure Committee has called for public submissions on the Regulatory Standards Bill.

You can make a submission here:
Make a submission
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Te Tiriti is Us has made a submission. You can see our submission here:
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Te Tiriti is Us - Written Submission - Finance and Expenditure Committee
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Start a discussion

Start respectful discussions with friends, whānau and colleagues about the importance of Te Tiriti.

You don't have to be an expert. Just find common ground in shared values such as fairness, unity and belonging.

Discuss the negative impact the bill would have on our international reputation as a treaty-based, progressive country with a good human rights record.

Learn about Te Tiriti

Maybe you weren't taught much about the Te Tiriti at school. Now is a great time to upskill yourself and learn about the history of Aotearoa New Zealand.
You can start by looking at some Resources.

Take action

Join in peaceful activities or protests.

Add your name to petitions or letters calling for the Government to honour Te Tiriti and to vote down the Regulatory Standards Bill.

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram.

Check out some other organisations who are also doing the mahi to vote down this bill:
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* Please note, we do not endorse any political parties, but this submission guide by the Green Party is quite helpful.

Another helpful link is this article by Kate Frykberg about why we need to oppose the Regulatory Standards Bill
A talk with David Seymour (and why we need to oppose the Regulatory Standards Bill).

You can find these and more information, guides and templates on our Submission page.
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