Treaty Principles Bill

The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, commonly known as the Treaty Principles Bill, was a government Bill introduced by David Seymour of the ACT New Zealand party. It aimed to define the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and put them to a nationwide referendum for confirmation. The Bill was promoted by ACT, who campaigned against the co-governance policies of the Sixth Labour Government and advocated a binding referendum on co-governance.

ACT and Seymour said the current principles had distorted the original intent of the treaty and created different rights for some New Zealanders, resulting in Māori having different political and legal rights and privileges compared to non-Māori, and provided an opportunity for Parliament, rather than the courts, to define the principles of the treaty. A 1News-Verian poll conducted from 30 November to 4 December 2024 showed that 23% of participants supported the Bill, 36% opposed it and 39% said they do not know enough about the Bill.

The Bill sparked significant controversy in New Zealand. National-led coalition government partners National and New Zealand First did not support the Bill past its first reading and referral to a select committee. The Bill drew criticism from opposition parties Labour, Green, and Te Pāti Māori, and Māori leaders and bodies, including the Waitangi Tribunal. Some legal critics argued the Bill sought to undermine Māori rights and disrupt established interpretations of the Treaty, and called on the Government to abandon it. On 14 November, the Bill passed its first reading in Parliament. On 19 November, the select committee called for public submissions on the Bill with a closing date of 7 January 2025, later extended to 14 January.

Speaking at Rātana Pā on 24 January 2025, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said "National won't support the Bill, it will be voted down and it won't become law" and also ruled out a referendum while he is prime minister. Coalition partner leader Winston Peters said the Bill was "dead in the water". Leader of the opposition Labour Party Chris Hipkins said "we've got one more month of submissions and then the Bill will be killed". The select committee hearings continued nonetheless and commenced with two weeks of oral submissions beginning on 27 January 2025. On 4 April 2025, the Justice select committee released its report and recommended that the legislation not proceed further.

On its second reading in 10 April 2025, the Bill was voted down.