On 16 September 2026, the Waitangi Tribunal released a pre-publication copy of Hūtia te Rito o te Harakeke, kei Hea te Kōmako e Kō? The Stage Two, Part I Report of the Education and Training Amendment Act and Te Mātaiaho Urgent Inquiry.
The Tribunal’s stage two, part I report concerns the Crown’s reform of Aotearoa New Zealand’s national curriculum, comprising both Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and the New Zealand Curriculum. This report follows the Tribunal’s stage one interim report concerning proposed changes to treaty provisions in the Education and Training Act 2020, released in May 2026, and precedes the forthcoming stage two, part II report addressing the removal of school boards’ Treaty obligations, formerly contained in section 127(1)(d) of the Education and Training Act 2020.
The Tribunal found that the Crown, through its actions related to developing a ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’ informed by the ‘science of learning’, breached a number of Treaty principles. Specifically, it found that the Crown:
- breached the principle of partnership through its lack of meaningful engagement and consensus-building with Māori about the new draft national curriculum and its failure to fulfil its obligations under the Kawa Whakapūmau with Ngā Kura ā Iwi;
- breached the principle of active protection by moving ahead with a knowledge-rich approach in the absence of evidence that it will reduce Māori inequities, in the face of opposition from Māori and the wider sector, with an apparent lack of engagement with the findings of the Huia Kaimanawa report, and in the context of its heightened duty to act in a protective manner in the compulsory schooling sector, where known inequities exist;
- breached its duty of active protection of te reo, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori by reducing emphasis on them (in a context in which section 127(1)(d) of the Education and Training Act 2020 had also been removed) and simultaneously inhibiting teachers’ capacity to meaningfully incorporate content from te ao Māori given the volume of prescribed content and mandatory teaching times for reading, writing, and mathematics;
- breached its duty of active protection of tikanga and mātauranga Māori by sidelining the Te Tīrewa Marautanga framework in favour of the same knowledge-rich design principles (except one) as underpinned the New Zealand Curriculum;
- breached the principle of partnership by failing to sufficiently consider the aspirations and priorities that whānau, hapū, and iwi have for their uri in Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori settings in its redesign of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa;
- breached the principle of equity through its lack of active protection and relative disregard for Māori voices; and
- breached the principle of good government in officials’ apparent failure to make any robust assessment of the applicability of the philosophy behind knowledge rich to New Zealand circumstances (and to Māori in particular), in officials’ corresponding reinforcement of the Minister’s predetermined position, and by the Crown’s apparent lack of consideration of existing successful Māori education models.
The Tribunal found that the claimants have suffered prejudice as a result of these breaches. This prejudice included damage to the Māori–Crown relationship; the clear signal to Māori students and whānau that Māori knowledge is somehow less important; a reduction in the Crown’s commitment to supporting the transmission of mātauranga Māori; the diminishment of mana for iwi and hapū that have contributed much effort to working in partnership with schools; and the undermining of the mana motuhake of Ngā Kura ā Iwi.
The Tribunal recommended that the Crown recommit to working in partnership with Māori in education and return to working with Māori on designing a truly indigenous Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori curriculum through Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. The Tribunal further provided the Crown with a list of features that it recommended should characterise the Crown’s renewed commitment to partnership. The Tribunal concluded that partnership was essential if the Crown were to correct its course and achieve equitable outcomes for ākonga Māori.
The report is now available to download:
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Hūtia te Rito o te Harakeke, kei Hea te Kōmako e Kō? The Stage Two, Part I Report of the Education and Training Amendment Act and Te Mātaiaho Urgent Inquiry – Pre-publication Version
The Education and Training Amendment Act and Te Mātaiaho Urgent Inquiry
On 16 September 2026, the Waitangi Tribunal released a pre-publication copy of Hūtia te Rito o te Harakeke, kei Hea te Kōmako e Kō? The Stage Two, Part I Report of the Education and Training Amendment Act and Te Mātaiaho Urgent Inquiry.
The Tribunal’s stage two, part I report concerns the Crown’s reform of Aotearoa New Zealand’s national curriculum, comprising both Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and the New Zealand Curriculum. This report follows the Tribunal’s stage one interim report concerning proposed changes to treaty provisions in the Education and Training Act 2020, released in May 2026, and precedes the forthcoming stage two, part II report addressing the removal of school boards’ Treaty obligations, formerly contained in section 127(1)(d) of the Education and Training Act 2020.
The Tribunal panel was comprised of Judge Rachel Mullins, Gerrard Albert, Derek Fox, Dr Paul Hamer, and Kevin Prime. The claimants, Te Kapotai and Ngāti Hine, first applied for urgency on 19 November 2025. On 3 December 2025, a further application for urgency was received from the kaimahi Māori of Te Riu Roa/New Zealand Educational Institute. The Crown opposed urgency.
On 2 March 2026, the Tribunal granted the claims urgency and, on 15 and 17 April 2026, the claims were heard. On the last day of hearing, following a judicial conference, the parties submitted a revised statement of issues which expanded the inquiry’s scope to include the proposed Education and Training Act 2020 reforms addressed in the stage one interim report. The revised statement of issues also replaced the heading ‘New Zealand Curriculum – Te Mātaiaho’ with the ‘National Curriculum’, thereby expanding the inquiry’s scope to incorporate Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, the curriculum designed for use in Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori settings. On 28 April 2026, the Tribunal heard oral closing submissions.
On 21 April 2026, Judge Mullins confirmed the Tribunal would report in two stages, with stage one addressing broader proposed changes to the Education and Training Act 2020 under the treaty clause review and stage two addressing the removal of section 127(1)(d) and the national curriculum. After receiving written closing submissions, the Tribunal issued its stage one interim report on 24 May 2026.
In this, its stage two, part I report, the Tribunal found that the Crown, through its actions related to developing a ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’ informed by the ‘science of learning’, breached a number of Treaty principles. Specifically, it found that the Crown:
- breached the principle of partnership through its lack of meaningful engagement and consensus-building with Māori about the new draft national curriculum and its failure to fulfil its obligations under the Kawa Whakapūmau with Ngā Kura ā Iwi;
- breached the principle of active protection by moving ahead with a knowledge-rich approach in the absence of evidence that it will reduce Māori inequities, in the face of opposition from Māori and the wider sector, with an apparent lack of engagement with the findings of the Huia Kaimanawa report, and in the context of its heightened duty to act in a protective manner in the compulsory schooling sector, where known inequities exist;
- breached its duty of active protection of te reo, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori by reducing emphasis on them (in a context in which section 127(1)(d) of the Education and Training Act 2020 had also been removed) and simultaneously inhibiting teachers’ capacity to meaningfully incorporate content from te ao Māori given the volume of prescribed content and mandatory teaching times for reading, writing, and mathematics;
- breached its duty of active protection of tikanga and mātauranga Māori by sidelining the Te Tīrewa Marautanga framework in favour of the same knowledge-rich design principles (except one) as underpinned the New Zealand Curriculum;
- breached the principle of partnership by failing to sufficiently consider the aspirations and priorities that whānau, hapū, and iwi have for their uri in Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori settings in its redesign of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa;
- breached the principle of equity through its lack of active protection and relative disregard for Māori voices; and
- breached the principle of good government in officials’ apparent failure to make any robust assessment of the applicability of the philosophy behind knowledge rich to New Zealand circumstances (and to Māori in particular), in officials’ corresponding reinforcement of the Minister’s predetermined position, and by the Crown’s apparent lack of consideration of existing successful Māori education models.
The Tribunal recommended that the Crown recommit to working in partnership with Māori in education and return to working with Māori on designing a truly indigenous Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori curriculum through Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. The Tribunal further provided the Crown with a list of features that it recommended should characterise the Crown’s renewed commitment to partnership. The Tribunal concluded that partnership was essential if the Crown were to correct its course and achieve equitable outcomes for ākonga Māori.