I was a member of the Lange Government that extended the Tribunal’s jurisdiction back to 1840. Despite the difficulties that decision created, on balance I think it was the right decision.
We should be proud that New Zealand was founded not by conquest, but by treaty.
For a naval officer, it is a good statement of our founding principles.
The Crown — today, all of us — is sovereign. Property rights are protected. And the people of New Zealand enjoy the rights of British citizens: access to the courts and equality before the law.
I was later appointed to the Tribunal. I read its decisions and its strategic plan.
The Tribunal has reinterpreted the Treaty in ways that Hobson and the chiefs would not recognise. The Tribunal is heading towards constructing a radical new constitution, in which unaccountable iwi leaders would become permanent partners in the government of New Zealand.
I was not willing to lend my name to that project. I resigned.
I have given a great deal of thought to how the Tribunal might be reformed. It should always have been headed by a High Court judge.
I have come to the conclusion that David Seymour is right: the Tribunal is now unreformable.
That does not mean that Māori and non-Māori should lose the ability to hold the Government of the day to the Crown’s Treaty undertakings.
Here is my suggestion.
Abolish the Waitangi Tribunal. Make it clear that Parliament is sovereign, and that no Tribunal ruling which has not been accepted by the Crown is a legal precedent.
Preserve the right of any citizen to take a Treaty-related case to the High Court and seek a declaration as to whether the Crown has honoured its Treaty obligations.
That would preserve the Treaty as our founding document without allowing our constitution to be rewritten by a body that has no democratic mandate.
The Crown — today, all of us — is sovereign. Property rights are protected. And the people of New Zealand enjoy the rights of British citizens: access to the courts and equality before the law.
I was later appointed to the Tribunal. I read its decisions and its strategic plan.
The Tribunal has reinterpreted the Treaty in ways that Hobson and the chiefs would not recognise. The Tribunal is heading towards constructing a radical new constitution, in which unaccountable iwi leaders would become permanent partners in the government of New Zealand.
I was not willing to lend my name to that project. I resigned.
I have given a great deal of thought to how the Tribunal might be reformed. It should always have been headed by a High Court judge.
I have come to the conclusion that David Seymour is right: the Tribunal is now unreformable.
That does not mean that Māori and non-Māori should lose the ability to hold the Government of the day to the Crown’s Treaty undertakings.
Here is my suggestion.
Abolish the Waitangi Tribunal. Make it clear that Parliament is sovereign, and that no Tribunal ruling which has not been accepted by the Crown is a legal precedent.
Preserve the right of any citizen to take a Treaty-related case to the High Court and seek a declaration as to whether the Crown has honoured its Treaty obligations.
That would preserve the Treaty as our founding document without allowing our constitution to be rewritten by a body that has no democratic mandate.
The Honourable Richard Prebble CBE is a former member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996, becoming its leader from 1996 to 2004. This article was sourced HERE
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