This term, issue by issue · Te Tiriti, Māori and the constitution

Te Tiriti and the constitution: Labour and ACT score highest with very different offers; every Te Tiriti proposal rests on a bare majority

What is at stake now and by 2050

This term

The Treaty's place in law, the future of the Waitangi Tribunal and Māori electoral representation are live questions this election, after a term of Treaty clause removals and a defeated Treaty Principles Bill. Voters also face proposals on how elections are run: enrolment, donations, costing of promises and the term of Parliament.

Number to know

The Treaty Principles Bill was defeated 112 votes to 11 at its second reading on 10 April 2025.

Source: 1News, Treaty Principles Bill voted down amid fiery MP debate (10 Apr 2025)

By 2050

Māori are a growing share of the population, and of the working-age population, so how the Crown and Māori share decisions over land, water, services and capital will shape growth and public services to 2050. Constitutional changes made by a bare majority tend to be reversed, so the durable answers are the ones that win broad support.

Number to know

Māori projected to be about 21% of New Zealand's population by 2043, up from about 17% in 2018 (Stats NZ).

Source: Stats NZ via Scoop, Māori population share projected to grow in all regions (2022)

Current settings

Waitangi Tribunal findings are mostly non-binding and historical settlements continue. The Treaty Principles Bill was defeated in 2025, the Regulatory Standards Act is in force, Treaty clauses have been removed from some laws, and same-day enrolment has ended. MMP with a 5% threshold and a three-year term.

The options on the table

Option	Backed by
Make Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding and entrench Te Tiriti	Greens Te Pāti Māori
Finish historical settlements, then wind up or replace the Waitangi Tribunal	ACT NZ First
Restore Māori participation in resource management and Māori economic programmes	Labour
National constitutional conversation	Greens Te Pāti Māori Opportunity
Independent costing of party promises	National Labour Opportunity
Cap political donations and register lobbyists	Greens Opportunity
Restrict voting to citizens; referendum on the Māori seats	NZ First

Where each party stands

Voter priorities out of 15 (the four core tests plus relief this term) and Readiness to 2050 out of 21 (the four core tests plus the three long-run tests). Current settings come first, as the bar to beat. Open a party for every test score, the rationale and the sources.

Current settings

Voter priorities: 8/15
Readiness to 2050: 11/21

Test scores, rationale and sources

Test	Score /3	Counts towards
Diagnosis	1	Both scores
Mechanism	1	Both scores
Funding	2	Both scores
Delivery	3	Both scores
Relief	1	Voter priorities
Future effect	1	Readiness to 2050
Durability	2	Readiness to 2050
Candour	1	Readiness to 2050

Rationale

Settlements continue and are Budget-funded with a long delivery record, but current settings set no direction on the Tribunal's or Te Tiriti's future. Recent changes (Regulatory Standards Act, Treaty clause removals, ending same-day enrolment) were passed on coalition votes and Labour and the Greens pledge to reverse parts of them, so Durability is 1.

Relief this term

Historical settlements keep being concluded for individual iwi, but current settings (Regulatory Standards Act, Treaty clause removals, end of same-day enrolment) settle none of the live questions and make enrolment harder at the 2029 election.

Sources

National

Voter priorities: 5/15
Readiness to 2050: 7/21

No general Treaty settings policy; upholds fisheries settlement obligations; costing unit funded; leader open to an MMP referendum.

Uphold Crown fisheries obligations under Te Tiriti while lifting EEZ protection to 50% by 2040
Election policy costings unit ($1.2m, in fiscal plan)
Leader said he would hold an MMP referendum if re-elected; not formal policy
National Rural and Provincial Water Use Strategy with iwi, councils and farmers in 2027

Test scores, rationale and sources

Test	Score /3	Counts towards
Diagnosis	1	Both scores
Mechanism	1	Both scores
Funding	1	Both scores
Delivery	1	Both scores
Relief	1	Voter priorities
Future effect	1	Readiness to 2050
Durability	1	Readiness to 2050
Candour	1	Readiness to 2050

Rationale

Not silent, but National has no general Treaty settings policy: its offer here is fisheries Treaty obligations, a small funded costing unit and a leader's undeclared MMP referendum idea (tier 3; colleagues called it 'musings'). Weighted to the core question, the offer is minimal.

Relief this term

No Treaty settings policy; the in-term items are narrow: a $1.2m costing unit and fisheries Treaty obligations, with the water strategy due in 2027 and the MMP referendum not formal policy.

Sources

Labour

Voter priorities: 11/15
Readiness to 2050: 14/21

Restores iwi participation and Māori economic programmes, adds a Parliamentary Budget Office; no position on the Tribunal.

Restore Mana Whakahono ā Rohe iwi participation agreements in resource management law
5% of government procurement to Māori businesses (about $900m of contracts)
Māori-led trades training fund, $21m a year, up to 3,000 people
Parliamentary Budget Office; restore same-day enrolment

Test scores, rationale and sources

Test	Score /3	Counts towards
Diagnosis	2	Both scores
Mechanism	2	Both scores
Funding	2	Both scores
Delivery	3	Both scores
Relief	2	Voter priorities
Future effect	2	Readiness to 2050
Durability	2	Readiness to 2050
Candour	1	Readiness to 2050

Rationale

Names drivers (Māori left out of resource decisions; Māori unemployment near 11%) and relies on mechanisms it has run before (Progressive Procurement, Mana Whakahono). Items sit in a full fiscal plan, Labour-commissioned review treated as 2; the PBO is a lasting fiscal institution. Silent on the Tribunal and Te Tiriti's legal status, and names no trade-offs.

Relief this term

Concrete in-term items for meaningful groups: 5% of procurement to Māori businesses (about $900m of contracts), Māori trades training at $21m a year for up to 3,000 people, restored Mana Whakahono agreements and same-day enrolment back before the 2029 election (about 110,000 voters). Silent on the Tribunal.

Sources

Greens

Voter priorities: 7/15
Readiness to 2050: 11/21

Te Tiriti as the authoritative text, a binding Tribunal, a funded marae trust and democracy integrity reforms.

Amend the Treaty of Waitangi Act so Te Tiriti is the authoritative text; binding Tribunal recommendations on Crown and private land
Te Rangatiratanga Trust for marae: $2.44b (costed in tax package)
$200m over four years for te reo Māori
$30,000 donation cap, lobbyist register, voting age 16, entrench the Māori seats

Test scores, rationale and sources

Test	Score /3	Counts towards
Diagnosis	2	Both scores
Mechanism	2	Both scores
Funding	1	Both scores
Delivery	1	Both scores
Relief	1	Voter priorities
Future effect	2	Readiness to 2050
Durability	2	Readiness to 2050
Candour	1	Readiness to 2050

Rationale

Names a driver (Treaty references removed from 19 Acts; iwi treated as advisors) with a clear legal path through the Treaty of Waitangi Act. The marae trust and te reo funding are costed in its tax package, but the binding Tribunal and land returns are uncosted and have no timeline, and effects on private landowners are not addressed. Te Pāti Māori backs the same core measures.

Relief this term

The main policies (Te Tiriti as the authoritative text, binding Tribunal recommendations, voting age 16, entrenched Māori seats) have no timeline; the four-year marae and te reo funds are booked in the tax package but do not settle the live Treaty and representation questions.

Sources

ACT

Voter priorities: 9/15
Readiness to 2050: 13/21

Finish historical settlements, then wind up the Tribunal; write equality before the law into the Constitution Act.

Tribunal disestablished automatically once claims lodged by 1 September 2008 are settled; no contemporary jurisdiction
Add three principles to the Constitution Act; property rights in the Bill of Rights
Courts to use tikanga only where relevant or provided by Parliament
Abolish demographic ministries (saves $187m a year, in fiscal plan)

Test scores, rationale and sources

Test	Score /3	Counts towards
Diagnosis	2	Both scores
Mechanism	2	Both scores
Funding	2	Both scores
Delivery	2	Both scores
Relief	1	Voter priorities
Future effect	2	Readiness to 2050
Durability	1	Readiness to 2050
Candour	2	Readiness to 2050

Rationale

Names the driver it sees (Tribunal and courts reaching into current policy) and a precise vehicle (Treaty of Waitangi Act amendment with a 2008 claim cut-off; Constitution Act principles). The $187m demographic ministries saving is in its fiscal plan; NZ First backs winding up the Tribunal. It acknowledges the Tribunal's role in historical redress and refuses an arbitrary deadline.

Relief this term

Constitution Act principles and the Treaty Act amendment could pass this term, but the Tribunal winds up only once pre-2008 claims are settled, so the main effect lands after 2029.

Sources

NZ First

Voter priorities: 7/15
Readiness to 2050: 9/21

Abolish the Waitangi Tribunal for a Completion Commission; citizens-only voting; referendum on the Māori seats.

Replace the Tribunal with a Treaty of Waitangi Completion Commission for pre-2008 claims, legislated within 100 days
Binding referendum on the Māori seats at the next general election
Only citizens to vote, in all elections and referendums
Disestablish Auckland's Independent Māori Statutory Board

Test scores, rationale and sources

Test	Score /3	Counts towards
Diagnosis	1	Both scores
Mechanism	2	Both scores
Funding	1	Both scores
Delivery	2	Both scores
Relief	1	Voter priorities
Future effect	1	Readiness to 2050
Durability	1	Readiness to 2050
Candour	1	Readiness to 2050

Rationale

Asserts the Tribunal is a 'make-work industry' without data, but sets a clear mechanism (Completion Commission, legislation in 100 days; referendum at the next election). No fiscal plan; only the board's $3.5m cost and a zero-cost referendum claim are stated. ACT backs winding up the Tribunal.

Relief this term

Completion Commission legislated within 100 days, but claims completion builds slowly; the Māori seats referendum is held at the next general election (2029), so its effect falls after the term.

Sources

Te Pāti Māori

Voter priorities: 8/15
Readiness to 2050: 10/21

Entrench Te Tiriti obligations, with a Te Tiriti Commission and binding Tribunal recommendations.

Statute binding the Crown to Te Tiriti, with a Te Tiriti Commission able to issue compliance orders
Binding Waitangi Tribunal recommendations
Entrench the Māori electorates
$220m Mātike Mai Fund over four years; constitutional change by 2040
UNDRIP national action plan within 100 days

Test scores, rationale and sources

Test	Score /3	Counts towards
Diagnosis	2	Both scores
Mechanism	2	Both scores
Funding	1	Both scores
Delivery	2	Both scores
Relief	1	Voter priorities
Future effect	1	Readiness to 2050
Durability	1	Readiness to 2050
Candour	1	Readiness to 2050

Rationale

Names the driver (Crown obligations unenforceable, so breaches carry no consequence) and sets out a detailed legal design: Te Tiriti Commission, compliance orders reviewable in the High Court, Treaty of Waitangi Act amendment, UNDRIP plan in 100 days. The $220m fund is costed but its funding source is not stated. It names the shift in burden onto the Crown but not the cost.

Relief this term

Mostly structural: Te Tiriti statute, a Te Tiriti Commission and binding Tribunal recommendations with no start date; the UNDRIP action plan in 100 days is a plan, and constitutional change is targeted for 2040.

Sources

Opportunity

Voter priorities: 7/15
Readiness to 2050: 10/21

Honour settlements, a deliberative constitutional conversation, and a costed political integrity package.

Honour and complete settlements; restore pre-2025 customary marine title settings
National conversation on Te Tiriti's constitutional place, with Māori as Treaty partner
Citizens' assemblies ($10m to $15m a year)
Anti-corruption body, costing unit, lobbyist register and $30,000 donation cap (package about $52m a year)

Test scores, rationale and sources

Test	Score /3	Counts towards
Diagnosis	2	Both scores
Mechanism	2	Both scores
Funding	1	Both scores
Delivery	1	Both scores
Relief	1	Voter priorities
Future effect	2	Readiness to 2050
Durability	1	Readiness to 2050
Candour	1	Readiness to 2050

Rationale

Diagnoses short-termism and low trust driving policy reversals and proposes deliberative fixes (citizens' assemblies, anti-corruption body, costing unit) with costs stated (about $52m a year); not shown in its tax package costings. Its Te Tiriti offer (honour settlements, constitutional conversation) has no vehicle or timeline. Greens share the donation cap.

Relief this term

A national constitutional conversation and citizens' assemblies are process, not relief; restoring pre-2025 customary marine title settings and the integrity package help narrow groups, with no start dates.

Sources

Place yourself

Agreeing sometimes means change and sometimes keeping current settings. Take the quiz to compare across every issue.

Statement	National	Labour	Greens	ACT	NZ First	Te Pāti Māori	Opportunity
Binding Tribunal. Waitangi Tribunal recommendations should be binding on the Crown.	No stated position	No stated position	Agrees	Disagrees	Disagrees	Agrees	Mixed
Tribunal's current role. The Waitangi Tribunal should continue to hear claims about current government policy.	No stated position	No stated position	Agrees	Disagrees	Disagrees	Agrees	No stated position
Donation cap. Political donations should be capped at $30,000 per donor.	No stated position	No stated position	Agrees	No stated position	No stated position	No stated position	Agrees
Same-day enrolment. Voters should again be able to enrol on election day.	No stated position	Agrees	Agrees	No stated position	No stated position	No stated position	No stated position

✓ Agrees, ○ Mixed, ✗ Disagrees, · No stated position. Silence is a finding.

Why each statement matters

Binding Tribunal Waitangi Tribunal recommendations should be binding on the Crown.
What it means
The Waitangi Tribunal hears claims that the Crown has broken Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi). Its findings are mostly advice now; this would make the Government legally bound to act on them.
The case for
It would give Treaty promises real force, so findings lead to action rather than being set aside.
The case against
It would shift major decisions, including over land, from elected Parliament to an unelected body.
The trade-off
Stronger Treaty protections versus Parliament's final say.
Tribunal's current role The Waitangi Tribunal should continue to hear claims about current government policy.
What it means
The Tribunal now hears both historical claims and claims about current government policy. Disagreeing would limit it to claims lodged by 2008 and wind it up once those are settled.
The case for
Māori could still challenge new laws and policies that may breach Te Tiriti.
The case against
Ending it after historical settlements gives finality and leaves current policy to Parliament and courts.
The trade-off
An ongoing Treaty check on government versus a clear end to the claims process.
Donation cap Political donations should be capped at $30,000 per donor.
What it means
There is no cap on donations now, only disclosure rules. This would limit what any one donor gives a party to $30,000; some proposals also ban company donations.
The case for
It reduces the risk that a few wealthy donors can buy influence over policy.
The case against
It limits how people back parties they believe in, and money may shift to less visible channels.
The trade-off
Less donor influence versus the freedom to give and fund campaigns.
Same-day enrolment Voters should again be able to enrol on election day.
What it means
Enrolling to vote on election day was ended this term, so people must now enrol beforehand. This would bring it back; one estimate is that about 110,000 people used it last election.
The case for
More eligible people get to vote, especially young people and those who move often.
The case against
Earlier enrolment allows more time to check eligibility and makes counting faster.
The trade-off
Easier voting versus earlier checks on the roll.

The 2050 test

Labour, the Greens, ACT and Opportunity build modestly: through a Parliamentary Budget Office, a capital fund for marae, a funded ministry saving, or deliberative institutions that make reforms stick. National, NZ First and Te Pāti Māori are neutral on the long-run position, and every Te Tiriti proposal from either side depends on a bare coalition majority, which is the pattern that produces reversals. Nobody sets out how a lasting, cross-bloc settlement of the Tribunal's and Te Tiriti's role would be reached, or costs the land and compensation effects of their Tribunal plans.

Party	Effect to 2050	The policy that drives it	Would it last?
National	Neutral	Election policy costings unit. A small, election-only costing unit adds little lasting fiscal discipline. Source	Partly
National	Neutral	No Māori economic or Treaty settings policy. Nothing here changes Māori capital, skills or land use. Source	Partly
Labour	Builds	Parliamentary Budget Office. Independent costing of every party's promises makes fiscal trade-offs visible beyond one term. Source	Yes
Labour	Builds	Māori procurement and trades training. Directs contracts and training to a young, growing share of the workforce. Source	Partly
Greens	Neutral	Te Rangatiratanga Trust and binding Tribunal. The $2.44b trust is funded from new tax, but binding Tribunal land returns are uncosted, so the fiscal effect is unclear. Source	No
Greens	Builds	$2b intergenerational marae fund. Builds a lasting capital base for marae run by hapū and iwi. Source	Partly
ACT	Builds	Abolish demographic ministries. Saves $187m a year in its fiscal plan. Source	Partly
ACT	Builds	Wind up the Tribunal's contemporary role. ACT argues it would make property rights and consenting more certain; the effect on investment is not quantified. Source	Partly
NZ First	Neutral	Replace the Tribunal with a Completion Commission. No costs or savings stated. Source	Partly
NZ First	Neutral	Māori land reform through the Ministry of Māori Development. Speeding Māori land development is a stated aim, with no measures or numbers. Source	Partly
Te Pāti Māori	Neutral	Te Tiriti Commission and binding Tribunal. New institutions and binding remedies with no stated funding source. Source	No
Te Pāti Māori	Neutral	Funds for Māori enterprise. Funds are proposed but unsized, so the effect on Māori capital is unclear. Source	No
Opportunity	Builds	Costing unit and anti-corruption body. Independent costing and integrity checks make long-term trade-offs harder to hide. Source	Partly
Opportunity	Builds	Capital access for Māori asset owners. Better access to capital for Māori land and asset owners, with accountability for results. Source	Partly

Since 19 October (not yet scored)

National and Labour: Both leaders back a referendum on a four-year parliamentary term (final leaders' debate, 20 October). Source

All sources for this grouping are listed on the sources page.