The Waitangi Tribunal
The Waitangi Tribunal is a standing commission of inquiry. It makes recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to legislation, policies, actions or omissions of the Crown that are alleged to breach the promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi.
Mana Wāhine Kaupapa Inquiry
The Mana Wāhine Kaupapa Inquiry will hear outstanding claims which allege prejudice to wāhine Māori as a result of Treaty breaches by the Crown.
Read more about the inquiry
1985
Tribunal gains retrospective jurisdiction to inquire into events back to 1840
1986
Te Reo Māori Claim Report
1987
1987 Lands Case
1996
Beginning of district inquiries
2015
Kaupapa inquiries commence
2030
Report Handover
Upcoming hearings and events
7
Oct
2024
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11
Māori Military Veterans
WAI: 2500
Event
Hearing
Judge
Isaac
5
Nov
2024
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6
National Freshwater and Geothermal Resources
WAI: 2358
Event
Hearing
Judge
Isaac
18
Nov
2024
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22
North-Eastern Bay of Plenty
WAI: 1750
Event
Hearing
Judge
Doogan
Latest Reports and Publications
Wai 3400 PP
Report
The Takutai Moana Act 2011 Urgent Inquiry Stage 1 Report
The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act Coalition Changes Urgent Inquiry
On 13 September 2024, the Waitangi Tribunal released The Takutai Moana Act 2011 Urgent Inquiry Stage 1 Report (Wai 3400). The inquiry was granted urgency in the Waitangi Tribunal’s inquiry programme. The hearing was held in August 2024.
The Tribunal panel comprised Judge Miharo Armstrong (presiding), Ron Crosby, Professor Rawinia Higgins, and Tā Pou Temara. The report was the first report in a two-stage inquiry. This first stage considered the Treaty compliance of the policy development process that the Government followed in seeking to amend the Takutai Moana Act 2011, along with the proposed amendments, and whether these caused prejudice to Māori. The second stage will address the alleged mismanagement of funding for applications for customary marine title under the Act.
Overall, the Tribunal found that the Crown’s actions are such a gross breach of the Treaty that it is an illegitimate exercise of kāwanatanga. The Tribunal cautioned the Crown that, on the strength of the evidence it received, to proceed now on its current course would significantly endanger the Māori–Crown relationship.
To give effect to Treaty principles, the Tribunal recommended that:
- the Crown halt its current efforts to amend the Takutai Moana Act;
- the Crown make a genuine effort for meaningful engagement with Māori; and
- the focus of this engagement should be on the perceived issues of permissions for resource consents, rather than interrupting the process of awarding customary marine title.
The Tribunal emphasised that the recommendations should be implemented to restore a fair and reasonable balance between Māori interests and those of the public in te takutai moana.
12 Sep 2024
Size: 2.02MB
Wai 3300 PP
Report
Ngā Mātāpono/The Principles
Wai 3300 - Tomokia ngā tatau o Matangireia - the Constitutional Kaupapa Inquiry
This report currently has no report summary.
15 Aug 2024
Size: 6.59MB
Wai 1718 PP
Report
Kei Ahotea Te Aho Matua – Pre-publication Version
Kura Kaupapa Māori (Dewes) Claim
Nō te rā nei ka puta i Te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti o Waitangi tōna pūrongo e kīia ana ko Kei Ahotea Te Aho Matua e pā ana ki te tono kōhukihuki i kawea e Te Rūnanga Nui, te māngai mō ngā whānau Kura Kaupapa Māori Te Aho Matua. E whakapae ana ngā kaitono kīhai i tika te whai wāhitanga, te whai whakaarotanga atu a te Karauna ki Te Rūnanga Nui, ki ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori rānei i roto i te tukanga arotake me te whakahou i Ngā Kura o Āpōpō, mai i te tau 2018 ki te tau 2022.
Kua tuhia tēnei pūrongo ki te reo Māori. I hua ai tēnei whakatau whai muri i ngā wānanga ki ngā kaitono me te Karauna, me te whai tautoko i a rātau. Kua tāpirihia ki tētahi āpitihanga ngā upoko 3 ki te 7 kei roto i te reo Pākehā o te pūrongo, kia mārama ake ai te pūrongo.
Ko te whakatau a te Taraipiunara, he maha ngā takahi a te Karauna i ngā mātāpono o te Tiriti e pā ana ki te noho rangapū me te whakamarumaru i te wā o te arotake me te whakahou i Ngā Kura o Āpōpō. Kīhai te tukanga a te Karauna i eke – mai i te whakatau ki te whakaara i te arotakenga i te tau 2018, tae noa ki te pūrongo mātauranga nō te Hereturikōkā 2022 i whakatakoto i ngā kōwhiringa mō te whakahou ki ngā Minita a Hipkins rāua ko Davis. Kei ngā upoko 4 me te 5 o te pūrongo ngā taipitopito mō ēnei kitenga, me te kōrero pono e hāngai ana. Ko tētahi āhuatanga i kitea e te Taraipiunara, kāore i ea te whai wāhi a ngā kaitono ki ngā mahi waihanga kaupapa here, me te koretake rawa o te Karauna ki te whakamōhio atu ki te aronga o ngā mahi kaupapa here.
I kitea e te Taraipiunara e rua ngā huarahi nui i takahi ai ngā whakaritenga kaupapa here a te Karauna i ōna here Tiriti ki ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori Te Aho Matua whai muri i te whakahou i Ngā Kura o Āpōpō. Tuatahi, kīhai te Karauna i whakatinana i te rautaki me ngā kaupapa here e hāngai ana ki te whakatika i ngā hiahia o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori, he mea takahi i ngā mātāpono o te noho rangapū, te whakamarumaru, te wairua tōkeke me te kōwhiringa. Tuarua, i kitea e te Taraipiunara he mea takahi ngā whakaritenga onāianei i ngā mātapono Tiriti o te noho rangapū me te wairua tōkeke nā te mea kāore Te Rūnanga Nui – te māngai mō ngā whānau Kura Kaupapa Māori Te Aho Matua – i whai mana ki ngā whakatau whakamutunga mō ngā kaupapa here e pā ana ki ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori.
Nā ngā takahitanga a te Karauna i whakahāwea nuitia ngā kaitono, me te mea anō kāore i ngā kaitono te mana e tika ana kei a rātau i raro i te rangapū mahitahi o te Tiriti, ki te waihanga i ngā kaupapa here e hāngai ana ki ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori Te Aho Matua.
Hei whakatika i tēnei hēnga he maha ngā tūtohunga a te Taraipiunara, tae atu ki te tohutohu kia mahitahi te Karauna me ngā kaitono ki te waihanga i ngā kaupapa here mō ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori Te Aho Matua ki ngā kaupapa pēnei i te hanga whare, te tautoko i te marau, me te whakamahere whatunga. Mō te pae tawhiti, e tūtohu ana te Taraipiunara kia ū te Karauna ki te whakatū i tētahi rōpū mātauranga whaimana motuhake – ko te tikanga ka waihangatia tōna korahi me āna mahi ki te taha o te hunga whaipānga Māori, tae atu ki ngā kaitono. Kei te upoko 7 te roanga ake o ngā taipitopito mō ngā tūtohunga a te Taraipiunara.
Kei Ahotea Te Aho Matua is a report on an urgent claim bought by Te Rūnanga Nui and the Kura Kaupapa Māori Te Aho Matua whānau it represents. The claimants allege that the Crown did not sufficiently involve or consider Te Rūnanga Nui or Kura Kaupapa Māori in the Tomorrow’s Schools review and reform process, from 2018 to 2022.
The report is produced in te reo Māori. This decision was made following discussion with, and support from, the claimants and the Crown. English versions of chapters 3 to 7 of the report are included in an appendix, to assist in understanding of the report.
The Tribunal found the Crown breached Treaty principles of partnership and active protection in several instances during the Tomorrow’s Schools review and reform. It found the Crown’s process throughout lacking – from the decision to initiate the review in 2018 to the August 2022 education report that provided Ministers Hipkins and Davis options for reform. These findings, and the relevant factual narrative, are set out in detail in chapters 4 and 5 of the report. A consistent theme the Tribunal found was insufficient involvement of the claimants in key policy development steps, and very poor communication from the Crown on the direction of policy work.
The Tribunal found that the Crown’s policy arrangements in the wake of the Tomorrow’s Schools reforms breach the Crown’s Treaty obligations to Kura Kaupapa Māori Te Aho Matua in two critical ways. First, the Crown has failed to implement bespoke policy and strategy to address the needs of Kura Kaupapa Māori, in breach of the principles of partnership, active protection, equity, and options. Secondly, the Tribunal found current arrangements breach Treaty principles of partnership and active protection because power to make final decisions on policy settings affecting Kura Kaupapa Māori is not shared with Te Rūnanga Nui, who act on behalf of Kura Kaupapa Māori Te Aho Matua whānau.
The Crown’s breaches caused considerable prejudice to the claimants, including that the claimants do not have the powers they should, under the Treaty partnership, to shape policy applicable to Kura Kaupapa Māori Te Aho Matua.
To remedy this harm, the Tribunal made several recommendations, including that the Crown work with the claimants to develop specific policies for Kura Kaupapa Māori Te Aho Matua in areas like property, curriculum support, and network planning. In the longer term, the Tribunal recommended that the Crown commit to establishing a stand-alone Kaupapa Māori education authority, the precise scope and functions of which are to be developed with Māori stakeholders, including the claimants.
25 Jul 2024
Size: 3.99MB
Tribunal
News
Waitangi Tribunal launches refreshed website
26/09/2024, 8:08 am
Today the Waitangi Tribunal launched its refreshed website. It now also features a language-toggle component for the website to be accessible in te reo Māori.
Read the article
Tribunal releases report on the Takutai Moana Act 2011
25/09/2024, 3:30 pm
The report considers the Treaty compliance of the policy development process that the Government followed in seeking to amend the Takutai Moana Act, along with the proposed amendments, and whether these cause prejudice to Māori.
Read the article