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On Friday 29 November 2024, the Tribunal released Hautupua: Te Aka Whai Ora (Maaori Health Authority) Priority Report, Part 1 in pre-publication format. The report was the result of a priority inquiry granted in May 2024 into claims concerning the Crown’s disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora – the Māori Health Authority. These claims were previously the subject of an urgent inquiry that was vacated when the Crown introduced the Pae Ora (Disestablishment of Māori Health Authority) Amendment Bill on 27 February. The panel for the inquiry was Judge Damian Stone (presiding), Professor Susy Frankel FRSNZ, Professor Tom Roa, Tania Simpson ONZM, and Linda Tuhiwai Smith CNZM.

The Tribunal decided to inquire into and report on the priority claims in two parts: the first part concerns the disestablishment and its impacts only. The second part will focus on the Crown’s alternative plans for Māori health. Part 1 of the Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority) priority inquiry was conducted on the papers with no in-person hearing.

The Tribunal found that the Crown breached the principles of tino rangatiratanga, kāwanatanga, good government, partnership, active protection, and redress. The Crown did not act in good faith when disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora as it did not consult with Māori. Without consulting its Tiriti/Treaty partner and without substantive advice from officials, the Crown decided that Te Aka Whai Ora was not required, despite knowledge of grave Māori health inequities.

Māori did not agree with the Crown’s decisions but were denied the right to self-determine what is best for them and hauora Māori. Instead, the Crown implemented its own agenda – one based on political ideology, rather than evidence – without even following its own process for the development and implementation of legislative reform. As the establishment of Te Aka Whai Ora was a form of redress for the Crown’s long-standing failure to reflect tino rangatiratanga in the health system, its unilateral decision to remove effectively took that redress away. The Tribunal found that these Tiriti/Treaty breaches caused significant prejudice to Māori.

The Tribunal recommended that the Crown commit to revisiting the option of a stand-alone Māori health authority, consult extensively with Māori in the development of any alternative plans, and always undertake proper regulatory impact analysis in matters that affect Māori health.

On Tuesday 5 November 2024, the Waitangi Tribunal released Ngā Mātāpono/The Principles: Part II of the Interim Report of the Tomokia Ngā Tatau o Matangireia – The Constitutional Kaupapa Inquiry Panel on The Crown’s Treaty Principles Bill and Treaty Clause Review Policies in pre-publication format.

This updated report responds to further evidence provided to the Tribunal on the policy development process for the proposed Treaty Principles Bill since May 2024, including the Cabinet paper on the proposed Bill.

The earlier findings and recommendations in the Tribunal’s initial interim report have not changed. Rather, this updated report consists of an additional chapter (chapter 6) that makes further findings on these specific matters.

Regarding the Crown’s policy development for the Bill, the Tribunal found the Crown’s process to develop the Bill has purposefully excluded any consultation with Māori, breaching the principle of partnership, the Crown’s good-faith obligations, and the Crown’s duty to actively protect Māori rights and interests. The Tribunal also found this policy process to be in breach of the principle of good government, as Cabinet has decided to progress the Bill despite it being a policy that is not evidence-based, has not been adequately tested, has not been consulted upon, and fails regulatory standards.

The Tribunal analysed how the proposed content of the Bill does not reflect the texts or meaning of the Treaty/te Tiriti. The Tribunal commented that Principle 1 misinterprets the kāwanatanga granted to the Crown in 1840, which is not an unbridled power restrained only by its own sense of what is in the best interests of everyone. Cabinet’s approval of Principle 2 for introduction in a Bill was found to be a breach of the principles of tino rangatiratanga, kāwanatanga, partnership, and active protection. The Tribunal commented that Principle 2, if enacted, would revoke the promises and guarantees the Queen made to Māori in 1840. The Tribunal held that Principle 3 bears no resemblance to the meaning of article 3 and that Cabinet’s decision to introduce the principle in a Bill was a breach of the Treaty/te Tiriti principles of partnership, equity, and active protection. 

The Tribunal found that these breaches caused significant prejudice to Māori. The Tribunal found that Māori would be particularly prejudiced by the extinguishment of tino rangatiratanga in a legal sense if the Bill were to be enacted. Among other effects, the new principles would apply to all legislation where the Treaty/te Tiriti might be considered relevant. The Tribunal also found that the new principles would advance the discredited agenda of assimilation, as they are designed to end the distinct status of Māori as the indigenous people of this country. The Tribunal commented that, even if the Bill were not enacted, Cabinet’s decision to introduce the Bill would prejudice Māori by further damaging the Māori–Crown relationship. Māori would also feel the brunt of the social disorder and division caused by the introduction of the Bill, including through the select committee process.

The Tribunal confirmed its previous recommendation that the Bill be abandoned. If the Government does not abandon the Bill, the Tribunal recommended that, given the constitutional significance of the issue, the Bill be referred to the Tribunal under section 8(2) of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975.

The Tribunal reserved its jurisdiction to hear further evidence and submissions concerning the Bill, should it be enacted.

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.

In May 2024, the Waitangi Tribunal granted an application for an urgent inquiry into claims concerning the Crown’s proposed policy changes to the Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2021. The Tribunal confirmed that the inquiry would focus on whether the actions and policies of Government in altering the 2021 amendment Act were in breach of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles.

The panel for the urgent inquiry consisted of Judge Sarah Reeves (officer), Basil Morrison CNZM JP, and Kevin Prime, and the inquiry was conducted on the papers with no in-person hearing. The Tribunal’s report was released on 17 May 2024.

The Tribunal found that the Crown breached the principle of partnership (the duty to consult and act reasonably and in good faith and the duty of active protection) by prioritising commitments made in the 2023 coalition agreement in the development of Government policy without discussion or consultation with its Treaty partners. The Crown also failed to adequately inform itself of its Treaty obligations and to conduct adequate Treaty analysis during the policy development process.

In addition, the Tribunal found that the Crown failed to adequately protect Māori rights and interests by prioritising the coalition agreement over the desires and actions of Māori for dedicated local political representation. Combined with breaches of the principles of equity, mutual benefit, and options, the Tribunal found that these Treaty breaches caused significant prejudice to Māori.

The Tribunal recommended that the Crown stop the amendment process to allow proper consultation between the Treaty partners with a view to agreeing how Māori can exercise their tino rangatiratanga to determine dedicated representation at the local level. The Tribunal drew the Government’s attention to the existing provisions in the Local Electoral Act 2001 for representation reviews that would better enable councils to seek public views on all wards and constituencies at the same time, including Māori wards or constituencies.

The Waitangi Tribunal has released The Oranga Tamariki (Section 7AA) Urgent Inquiry 10 May 2024 Report in pre-publication format.

On 29 April 2025, The Tribunal issued an interim report, The Oranga Tamariki (Section 7AA) Urgent Inquiry Report, in pre-publication form.

The report concerns claims submitted to the Tribunal under urgency regarding the Crown’s policy to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. Section 7AA imposes specific duties on the chief executive of Oranga Tamariki so as to provide a practical commitment to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi

A key policy objective of section 7AA was to reduce the disproportionate number of Māori entering into care and to improve outcomes for those tamariki already in care. Under section 7AA, iwi or Māori organisations may enter into strategic partnerships with the chief executive. There are 10 strategic partnership agreements under section 7AA currently in place, as well as nine relationships with post-settlement governance entities, some of whom are also strategic partners.

The claimants and interested parties argued that the repeal of section 7AA and the absence of consultation with Māori and the Crown’s strategic partners breached the Crown’s Treaty duties.

Because of its interim status, the report contains no findings or recommendations but it raises three matters for the government’s consideration:

• the Tribunal’s concern that the government’s singular focus on the implementation of a commitment made in one of the coalition agreements has caused it to disregard its obligations under the Treaty;
• the Tribunal’s concern that the rushed repeal of section 7AA will cause actual harm; and
• the availability of a more principled way forward under section 448B of the Act.

The panel comprised Judge Michael Doogan (presiding), Kim Ngarimu, and Tā William Te Rangiua (Pou) Temara.

The Waitangi Tribunal’s report into the Crown’s response to contemporary Māori homelessness, Kāinga Kore, examines Crown policies and strategies from 2009 (when the Crown introduced its first comprehensive definition of homelessness) to 2021 (when the Tribunal’s hearings took place).

The Tribunal finds that the Crown breached its Treaty obligations during this period by:

• Its failure to adequately consult with Māori in the development of its homelessness definition in 2009 and to rectify this in the period since. This was a breach of the Crown’s Treaty duty of consultation.
• Its prolonged failure to adequately collect data on homelessness in New Zealand. This breached both the principles of good government and active protection.
• Its failure to provide homeless Māori with housing that meets a range of basic standards in terms of amenities, comfort, and security. This was a breach of the principle of active protection. The Crown also breached the principle of equity through the growing over-representation of Māori with unmet housing need, and it breached the principle of good government by its failure to implement, or monitor the progress of, its Māori housing strategy He Whare Āhuru.
• The narrowness of its consultation over the Homelessness Action Plan and the Māori and Iwi Housing Innovation Framework (MAIHI).
• Its failure, with regard to rangatahi homelessness specifically, to take vigorous action to protect such a vulnerable group. This breached the principle of active protection. It also breached the principle of good government through its failure to obtain adequate data on rangatahi homelessness.

The Tribunal also found that the Crown’s acknowledgement that ongoing ‘fragmentation’ and ‘congestion’ within the housing system was undermining Māori housing ambitions confirmed that it had breached the principle of good government.

Kāinga Kore does not examine (or make findings on) broader housing issues which the Tribunal is yet to hear evidence and submissions on. These will be considered later in the inquiry and include the historical provision of housing to Māori, the longstanding barriers to building on whenua Māori, and the advent of the welfare state in the 1930s and its later abandonment in the neo-liberal political economy of the 1980s and beyond.

The Housing and Policy Services Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 2750) was formally initiated in July 2019. The following year, the Tribunal confirmed that stage one would address contemporary Māori homelessness in a targeted way. This decision reflected the parties’ wishes and recognised that homelessness was the most acute and urgent housing issue Māori were facing, especially with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seventy-nine claims were eligible for this initial stage of the inquiry and a further 21 parties were granted interested party status. Five hearings were held between March and November 2021. Witnesses appeared for the Crown from five separate agencies and technical witnesses were called by the claimants, but no research was commissioned for this part of the inquiry.

The panel for the Housing and Policy Services Kaupapa Inquiry comprises Judge Craig Coxhead (presiding), Dr Paul Hamer, Prue Kapua, and Basil Morrison. Hearings for the next stage of the inquiry are due to begin in 2024.

The Kōpūtara Priority Report was released by the Tribunal on 27 March 2024 in pre-publication format. It concerns a claim about the Crown’s failure to grant title or access to the Kōpūtara reserve. This reserve is located at Lake Kōpūtara near Foxton and Hīmatangi Beach. It was set aside from the 240,000-acre Rangitikei–Manawatu purchase in 1870 but the claimants did not receive a title until 1964 or physical access until 2016. The Crown conceded that it breached the Treaty when it failed to grant title in a timely manner, and the Tribunal also found other breaches of Treaty principles.

The panel comprised Chief Judge Dr Caren Fox (presiding), Dr Grant Phillipson, Tania Te Rangingangana Simpson ONZM, and Dr Monty Soutar.

The Wai 1932 claim was led by Kōpūtara trustees Annabel Mikaere and Patrick Seymour. It was brought on behalf of the hapū Ngāti Parewahawaha, Ngāti Pareraukawa, Ngāti Kikopiri, Ngāti Tūranga, and Ngāti Tukorehe. The Kōpūtara trustees claimed that they were denied legal title and/or access to their own land and treasured resources for almost 150 years, during which time the environment of the reserve and lake was severely degraded.

The Crown accepted that it failed to provide the Kōpūtara reserve with access when it granted all the land surrounding the reserve to private owners. The Crown also acknowledged that this impacted the claimants’ economic, social, and cultural well-being and their ability to exercise ownership and kaitiakitanga. Depriving the claimants of access also disrupted their cultural relationship with the lake and reserve.

The Tribunal found that the Crown’s failure to provide access when it alone had the power to do so was a breach of the principles of the Treaty. The prejudicial result was that the claimants had no legal access until 1998 and no physical access until 2016. The Crown covered the trustees’ legal fees in the 1980s in a long-running litigation to obtain access. The Crown accepted at that time that it should compensate the claimants and fund the construction of a right of way, but it failed to do either. The Tribunal found that this further breached Treaty principles.

The Crown also accepted that it negatively affected the environment of the reserve and Lake Kōpūtara while the claimants were locked out. The Himatangi Drainage Scheme was established and funded by the Crown. It over-drained the lake and contributed to serious sand drift. The Crown also accepted that the Army’s use of the reserve as a live shell range in the 1940s and 1950s worsened the sand drift.

The Tribunal found that the Army’s damage to the reserve, the deficient legislative framework, and the excessive drainage before and by the Himatangi Drainage Scheme were key factors in the degradation of the reserve and lake. The Kōpūtara owners were further disadvantaged because they had no title when the Himatangi scheme was established and could not take action to stop sand drift even once they obtained a title due to their lack of access. The Tribunal found that the Crown failed to protect the reserve’s environment and contributed actively and significantly to the environmental degradation of the reserve and lake, in breach of Treaty principles.

The Tribunal found that the claimants suffered significant prejudice from these Treaty breaches. They lost access to the mahinga kai of the reserve and of Lake Kōpūtara, lost their ability to act as kaitiaki, and lost the ability to transmit customary knowledge to later generations. The claimants were also significantly prejudiced by the high degree of damage to the reserve and to their taonga, Lake Kōpūtara.

Overall, the Tribunal concluded that the Kōpūtara claim was well-founded. To remove or mitigate the harm caused by the Crown’s breaches, the Tribunal made several recommendations that can be found in chapter 5 of the report.