New Zealand First’s Shane Jones has backed a stronger Te Puni Kōkiri, ruled out folding the Māori development agency into another government department, and signalled his party will take a different path from ACT over the future of the Waitangi Tribunal.
Speaking to Waatea, Jones said that if he had his way, Te Puni Kōkiri would be given greater strength and responsibility, including potentially taking on functions currently sitting within the Ministry of Justice.
Rather than questioning the future of TPK, Jones indicated he wanted to see the agency become more robust and influential across government.
He also made clear he had no criticism of the agency itself and said New Zealand First would not support merging TPK into another ministry.
MORE POWER FOR TE PUNI KŌKIRI
Jones’ comments put a different proposition on the table about the future of Māori public-sector institutions.
Instead of reducing TPK’s role, he is suggesting consolidating additional Māori-related functions within the agency to strengthen its position.
Moving functions from the Ministry of Justice would represent a significant change and would require detailed decisions about precisely which responsibilities transferred and how they would operate.
But politically, the message from Jones is clear: New Zealand First sees a continuing standalone role for Te Puni Kōkiri.
That could become important as Māori voters assess how different parties intend to structure the Crown’s relationship with iwi, hapū and Māori communities after the election.
NZ FIRST AND ACT DIVIDE OVER TRIBUNAL
Jones also highlighted differences between New Zealand First and ACT over the Waitangi Tribunal.
ACT has proposed major changes to the Tribunal, including ending its ability to consider contemporary claims about current Crown policy and conduct and ultimately disestablishing it once eligible historical claims have been completed.
Jones indicated New Zealand First does not share ACT’s position in its entirety.
That distinction could become significant in any future coalition negotiation.
The Tribunal has become one of the clearest points of debate over whether Te Tiriti should continue to provide a mechanism for scrutinising contemporary Crown decisions, or whether the institution should increasingly be confined to completing historical grievances.
For Māori, the outcome could determine what independent avenues remain available to challenge future Crown decisions through a Te Tiriti framework.
NGĀPUHI BACK ON THE AGENDA
Jones went further by signalling that Ngāpuhi and Te Tai Tokerau could become another major focus for New Zealand First.
He suggested the party would be pushing for a deal in the North involving Ngāpuhi.
Exactly what form that deal would take remains to be developed, but the comments put renewed political attention on one of the largest and most complex unresolved Treaty settlement kaupapa in the country.
Any attempt to progress Ngāpuhi would have to navigate longstanding questions around hapū rangatiratanga, representation, mandate and how settlement negotiations should proceed across the different communities of Te Tai Tokerau.
For successive governments, those issues have proved difficult to resolve.
A DIFFERENT MĀORI POLICY DIRECTION
Taken together, Jones’ comments offer an emerging picture of where New Zealand First could position itself on Māori affairs heading into Election 2026.
A stronger standalone Te Puni Kōkiri.
Potentially more Māori-related functions concentrated within it.
No support for absorbing TPK into another ministry.
A different position from ACT on the Waitangi Tribunal.
And renewed attention on finding a pathway forward with Ngāpuhi in the North.
Those positions could matter considerably if New Zealand First again finds itself holding the balance of power.
Coalition governments require compromise, and the future of Māori institutions, Te Tiriti policy and the Waitangi Tribunal could become part of those negotiations.
For Jones, however, the starting point appears clear.
Rather than dismantling Te Puni Kōkiri, he wants to strengthen it — and rather than simply following ACT’s direction on the Waitangi Tribunal, New Zealand First is signalling it has its own Māori policy agenda to take into any future government.
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