Tribunal finds Treaty reforms breach Te Tiriti principles, prejudice Māori, damage Māori-Crown relationship

The Waitangi Tribunal has found the Crown breached multiple principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi by approving plans to repeal and weaken Treaty protections across 18 pieces of legislation, warning the changes would cause "significant prejudice" to Māori and further damage the Māori-Crown relationship.

In its report, Te Tinihanga o Ngā Mātāpono: The Urgent Report on the Treaty Principles Reform, the Tribunal found Cabinet approved the changes "on the basis of a flawed rationale and in an absence of supporting evidence".

It found ministers made the decisions "without adequately informing" themselves of the effects the reforms would have on Māori, "prioritising coalition agreement commitments over the need to make informed policy decisions", and "in the absence of meaningful engagement with Māori".