1:00 pm, Monday 23 June 2025 marks the closing of the select committee submission period on the controversial Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB), introduced by ACT’s David Seymour and backed by the National-led government. Here at Waatea we have reported a lot over the last few months as whanau, individuals and organisations around Aotearoa prepare their submissions. With less than 24 hours to go we thought we would check in with where things sit. For example we have posed for questions to David Seymour:

• Q1: With what appears to be so many against the RSB – and its come before the Parliament in on form or another before – if the weight of submissions is against the Bill – will that be it?
• Q2: Why keep flogging what appears to be a dead horse?
• Q3: Can we expect to see the RSB in another guise?
• Q4: Do you have a final message for those still wanting to submit as the time approaches for submissions to close?

We haven’t heard from him just yet (in fairness we asked on Sunday morning)

Marama Davidson, Co-Leader of the Greens told Waatea “Final message to our people, never wasting my breath appealing to Mr Seymour: we are more powerful than the uber wealthy few who seek to exploit our whenua and our people. Together we can create an Aotearoa that our mokopuna deserve. Kia kaha tātou! Submit. Vote. Haka!” as submissions enter the final 24 hour period. While co-Leader of Te Pati Maori Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said “David, not reforming the system hes rigging it for his Atlas agenda & corporate mates. His constant attacks on Te tiriti, workers rights, whānau and the environment will be fended off because NZers don’t want a nation of elitists they want a nation that’s fair, just & honourable”.

Former Minister of Maori Development, Willie Jackson, never one to mince his words, took to social media: “Whanau are tired and exhausted and feeling the pinch of so many family and friends leaving for Australia as the cost of living keeps going up that they don’t see the dirty tricks this Right Wing Government keeps trying to sneak through!” and his caucus colleague Shanan Halbert was equal in his blunt message to Waatea: “Let’s put this governments overreach to bed. National allows a constant attack on Māori and Te Tiriti and has failed again to protect our environment and wellbeing as a we know it. If you haven’t submitted, do it today. What we do today, sets the future pathway for our rangatahi. Haere whakamua, hoki whakamuri.” 

So, what is the RSB? The legislation mandates that all new (and existing) regulation be measured against a set of principles; such as upholding personal liberty, property rights, rule of law, and minimizing regulatory burdens. It also requires ministers and agencies to certify compliance and creates a new Regulatory Standards Board for independent oversight. Over 23,000 submissions were received in the discussion phase; but only 4% were manually read; Waitangi Tribunal alarm: The Tribunal found the Crown breached Treaty principles by failing to meaningfully consult Māori and urged the bill’s pause until consultation was achieved. Civil society & expert pushback: NGOs like the NZ Council for Civil Liberties, Public Health, and the Greens warn the bill entrenches libertarian ideology, devalues environmental, public health, and Te Tiriti obligations, and creates bureaucratic overload. Legislative guidelines body concerned: The Legislation Design and Advisory Committee pointed out that existing regulatory safeguards already exist, calling this statutory overlay unnecessary and constitutionally risky.

Opponents urge public action: Community, environmental, union, and Māori groups are calling on New Zealanders to submit opposition, arguing the bill weakens protections for people, planet, tamariki, and Te Tiriti rights.

ACT and Minister David Seymour suggest the bill improves transparency and rule-of-law in regulation, dismissing much opposition as AI-generated backlash – Seymour told RNZ that “You’re smart enough to know that those 23,000 submissions, 99.5 percent of them, were because somebody figured out how to make a bot make fake submissions that inflated the numbers,”

Opponents of the Regulatory Standards Bill, introduced by ACT MP David Seymour, have voiced strong concerns from across Māori, legal, academic, union, environmental, and community sectors. Here’s a summary of key arguments raised against the bill: Critics argue the bill elevates unelected judges and a new Regulatory Standards Board to override or undermine decisions made by elected MPs. The bill allows courts to issue “declarations of incompatibility” if laws or regulations breach certain principles, which could pressure future Parliaments to avoid passing socially beneficial but “non-compliant” laws.

NZ Council for Civil Liberties called it “constitutionally radical,” warning it tips power toward the judiciary and away from democratic institutions. Meanwhile Professor Andrew Geddis, University of Otago said, “The bill would, in effect, create a regulatory constitution for New Zealand … could ‘radically reshape legislation affecting Māori’.” And Dr Carwyn Jones, law academic had this to say, “It will create one of the most fundamental constitutional shifts in our legal history… elevating … libertarian views into a ‘position of constitutionally superior law’.” Opposition kept coming:

Lady Tureiti Moxon, Te Kōhao Health: “The bill is ‘a dangerous and direct threat to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the rights of Māori’… ‘colonialism dressed up as reform.’”

Tania Waikato, Treaty claimant lawyer: Dubbed it the Treaty Principles Bill “2.0”, noting the Tribunal “recommended the government immediately halt [its] advancement.”

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi: “The Regulatory Standards Bill is a Trojan Horse that will erase the mana of Te Tiriti … It will give the Minister for Regulations, David Seymour, more power than the Prime Minister & Parliament.”

Greenpeace Aotearoa said the bill “threatens to pass, despite Treaty and legal doubts… intended to act as a legislative filter… The fact Te Tiriti … are missing … explains the Waitangi Tribunal’s alarm.”

The Waitangi Tribunal ruled in May 2025 that the bill was in breach of the Treaty because there was no proper consultation with Māori. The bill does not acknowledge Treaty principles, tikanga Māori, or the partnership obligations between the Crown and tangata whenua. Māori organisations argue it could override policies that give effect to Te Tiriti, including those related to land, environment, and tino rangatiratanga. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and others: Say it could block Treaty-based redress and protections in legislation. In summary the general feedback has fallen the following way:

• Constitutional threat: Seen as establishing a judicial fed “regulatory constitution” that supersedes parliamentary sovereignty.
• Te Tiriti risks: Māori voices assert it undermines Treaty obligations and erases the mana of Te Tiriti.
• Social and environmental impact: Critiqued for raising property and economic rights above collective wellbeing.
• Democratic dilution: Warnings it shifts power toward unelected boards and judges, diminishing elected Parliament’s role and community participation.

More to come

Matthew Tukaki has made a submission against the RSB  in his role as Chair of the National Maori Authority / Ngā Ngaru Rautahi O Aotearoa National Māori