ACT leader David Seymour has unveiled a sweeping plan to dramatically reshape the Waitangi Tribunal, promising to end its jurisdiction over contemporary Crown policy and ultimately wind the Tribunal up once outstanding historical claims are completed.

Under the policy, the Tribunal would be limited to historical claims lodged by 1 September 2008, with no new role in reviewing current government policy or conduct.

Once all eligible historical claims were heard and resolved, ACT says the Tribunal would be automatically disestablished.

The proposal puts the future of one of New Zealand’s most significant Treaty institutions squarely into the Election 2026 debate.

“ACT will amend the Treaty of Waitangi Act so the Tribunal is automatically disestablished …. ” 

ACT SAYS HISTORICAL CLAIMS SHOULD BE FINISHED PROPERLY

Seymour says ACT supports completing full and final historical Treaty settlements, including claims involving confiscated land and other breaches of property rights.

The party says those historical grievances should be resolved properly and without imposing an arbitrary deadline that could rush remaining claims.

ACT’s argument is that the historical settlement process is finite and should eventually come to an end.

But the party says the modern Waitangi Tribunal has moved well beyond that original purpose.

CONTEMPORARY CLAIMS WOULD BE SHUT DOWN

The biggest change would be ending the Tribunal’s ability to investigate contemporary Crown policy and conduct.

ACT is specifically targeting urgent inquiries and kaupapa inquiries, arguing these have increasingly allowed the Tribunal to scrutinise day-to-day government decisions and propose alternative policy settings.

Seymour says policy choices should ultimately be made by elected governments and Parliament, not by what ACT describes as a parallel tribunal.

The party’s position is that once historical claims are completed, disputes over government actions should be dealt with through the ordinary courts and legal system.

ONE LAW FOR ALL AT THE CENTRE OF ACT’S ARGUMENT

ACT is framing the policy around a broader principle of equal legal protection.

Seymour says every New Zealander should have access to strong legal protections regardless of ancestry and that rights should be protected through ordinary law rather than through a permanent separate tribunal.

The party has already proposed strengthening property rights through the New Zealand Bill of Rights and says that would give people a stronger legal mechanism to challenge unlawful government interference.

ACT argues this would provide a more universal framework for protecting rights.

Critics, however, are likely to argue that Treaty obligations are not the same as general legal rights and that removing the Tribunal’s contemporary jurisdiction would remove a specialist mechanism specifically designed to examine whether the Crown is meeting its obligations to Māori.

FOUR-PART PLAN TO WIND DOWN THE TRIBUNAL

ACT’s policy is built around four major changes.

First, it would complete all eligible historical claims.

Second, it would end the Tribunal’s contemporary jurisdiction and stop it from reviewing current Crown policy and actions.

Third, it would shift future rights disputes towards the ordinary courts and wider legal system.

Finally, ACT would amend the Treaty of Waitangi Act so the Tribunal automatically ceases to exist once all qualifying historical claims are finished.

The party says this would allow New Zealand to complete the historical settlement process without leaving the Tribunal as a permanent institution.

2040 BECOMES A SYMBOLIC DEADLINE

Seymour is also linking the policy to 2040, the bicentenary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

ACT says New Zealand should use the next 14 years to complete remaining historical settlements and move towards what the party describes as one law for all.

The significance of 2040 is likely to make the issue deeply symbolic.

For ACT, it represents a point at which historical grievances should have been settled and the country should move into a new constitutional phase.

For many Māori, however, Te Tiriti is not simply a historical document tied to past grievances.

It remains an ongoing agreement between Māori and the Crown, with obligations that continue as long as the Crown continues to govern.

That difference in interpretation goes to the heart of the political argument.

WHAT WOULD BE LOST?

The Waitangi Tribunal has increasingly dealt with contemporary issues affecting Māori across health, education, housing, justice, disability, environment and public policy.

Removing contemporary jurisdiction would mean Māori could no longer bring new claims alleging that current Crown actions breach Treaty principles through the Tribunal process.

That would be a major constitutional shift.

The Tribunal does not generally have the same binding powers as a court, but its findings can shape political debate, expose Crown failures and create a formal public record of Māori grievances.

ACT says elected governments should not be constrained by that process.

Opponents are likely to argue the Tribunal plays an essential role in holding the Crown accountable between elections.

ANOTHER MAJOR TE TIRITI ELECTION BATTLE

The policy arrives in an election campaign already dominated by arguments over Treaty principles, Māori rights and the role of Te Tiriti in legislation.

ACT’s position now goes further than simply changing Treaty clauses in laws.

It raises the question of whether the Waitangi Tribunal itself should continue to exist beyond the settlement of historical claims.

That places voters before a fundamental choice.

Should the Tribunal remain a permanent mechanism allowing Māori to challenge contemporary Crown actions through a Te Tiriti framework?

Or should its role end once the historical settlement process is complete?

For ACT, the answer is clear.

Finish the historical claims, end contemporary jurisdiction and close the Tribunal when the job is done.

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