Summarised by Centrist
The Waitangi Tribunal has granted urgency to a claim brought by Te Pāti Māori linked group Toitū te Tiriti against the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill, with over 12,000 people signed on as claimants.
The Tribunal will hear the matter on 6 June, ahead of the bill’s expected introduction to Parliament by the end of the month.
The claim alleges the bill would breach the Treaty of Waitangi by enabling the Minister for Regulation – currently David Seymour – to review and influence legislation without reference to Te Tiriti principles.
The preliminary Treaty Impact Analysis for the bill explicitly noted it does not include any Treaty-based criteria in its definition of “good law-making.”
Te Pāti Māori vice president and Toitū te Tiriti spokesperson Eru Kapa-Kingi said the bill could result in “significant prejudice” to Māori and likened the claim to a “Māori class action.”
Seymour dismissed the claim as a stunt, saying the bill only requires officials to justify restrictions on citizens’ rights, property, and freedoms. “If they’ve got a problem with that, I’ll be interested to hear it,” he said, but called the move “just another publicity stunt from a Māori Party protest group.”
