A major review of the Waitangi Tribunal remains behind closed doors more than a year after it was announced, with ministers still considering recommendations that could shape the future role of one of Aotearoa’s most important Te Tiriti institutions.
The independent review stems from the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement and its commitment to refocus the scope, purpose and nature of Waitangi Tribunal inquiries towards what the Government describes as the original intent of the legislation.
The work has now been completed, but the report has not been publicly released.
Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says its findings and recommendations are before ministers and being actively considered, with decisions about releasing the Independent Technical Advisory Group report to be announced after that process is complete.
What does original intent actually mean?
At the heart of the debate is a fundamental disagreement over what the Waitangi Tribunal was originally created to do.
The Tribunal was established in 1975, initially with jurisdiction over contemporary Crown actions from that point forward. It was not until 1985 that its jurisdiction was extended backwards to consider historical claims dating to 1840.
That history is important because critics of attempts to narrow the Tribunal’s role argue scrutiny of contemporary Government policy is not mission creep at all — it was part of the institution’s original function.
Māori law and philosophy lecturer Carwyn Jones of Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa argues the concept of returning the Tribunal to its original intent is therefore difficult to reconcile with its history.
Historical claims are now winding down, and the Tribunal can no longer accept new historical claims. That leaves contemporary Crown policy and kaupapa inquiries increasingly central to its work.
Shane Jones wants greater restraint
New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones takes a markedly different position.
He argues the Tribunal has suffered from mission creep and should exercise greater restraint when examining policies pursued by democratically elected governments.
Jones’ concern centres particularly on kaupapa inquiries, which examine issues affecting Māori collectively rather than resolving individual historical grievances.
Current kaupapa inquiries cover major issues including climate change, mana wāhine, freshwater and geothermal resources.
Jones argues broad public-policy questions should primarily be resolved through the democratic political process rather than through Tribunal inquiries.
Potaka pushes back on removing kaupapa inquiries
But there appears to be an important difference within the coalition over how far reform should go.
Newsroom has reported the unreleased review does not recommend stripping the Tribunal of its ability to undertake kaupapa inquiries.
Potaka has also indicated he does not support removing the Tribunal’s ability to conduct the current kaupapa inquiries.
That potentially places National and New Zealand First on different sides of one of the most consequential questions arising from the review.
Jones has acknowledged Potaka is leading the work and indicated NZ First will work at the pace of its coalition partner.
A turbulent relationship with the Government
The review comes after an unusually confrontational period between the Coalition Government and the Tribunal.
During this parliamentary term, the Tribunal has scrutinised Government policy across a range of issues affecting Māori, while ministers have repeatedly challenged both its conclusions and the extent of its involvement in contemporary policy.
Carwyn Jones says the relationship between the Government and Tribunal has been among the most contested he has witnessed.
That makes the contents of the unreleased review politically significant.
The argument is no longer primarily about settling historical grievances.
It is increasingly about whether the Waitangi Tribunal should continue scrutinising the decisions governments make today through the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Election 2026 adds another dimension
With the general election approaching, the continued delay in releasing the report leaves Māori voters without the full findings of a review that could influence the future powers and direction of the Tribunal.
For New Zealand First, reforming the Tribunal remains part of a broader political argument about democratic authority and what it regards as race-based institutions.
For many Māori legal scholars and Te Tiriti advocates, however, the Tribunal provides an important mechanism through which Crown decisions can be independently examined against Treaty obligations.
And there lies the political battle.
If historical Treaty claims are reaching their conclusion, the question is not whether the Waitangi Tribunal still has work to do — it is what that work should be, how much authority the Tribunal should retain, and whether governments should continue facing independent scrutiny when contemporary policies affect Māori.
The Government now has the review.
What Māori and the wider public do not yet have is the opportunity to read it for themselves.
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