Today is a major turning point for democratic accountability and equal rights in New Zealand.
ACT Party Leader David Seymour has announced a major new policy reform targeting the Waitangi Tribunal: ACT will support the completion of remaining historical Treaty claims, strip the Tribunal of its contemporary jurisdiction, and disestablish it entirely once historical settlements are concluded.
At Hobson’s Pledge, we fully support this step. While our long-held position has been the complete abolition of the Waitangi Tribunal, our stance has always been rooted in finishing genuine, historical redress properly. ACT’s newly announced policy aligns directly with that principle.
The original purpose of the Tribunal was to assist with historical redress and see where the Crown may have breached rights. But the institution operating today is unrecognisable. The Tribunal has morphed into an activist body that continually interferes with the decisions of democratically elected governments.
Instead of focusing on past grievances, the Tribunal regularly passes judgment on modern-day government policy, attempting to steer executive decisions that belong strictly to Parliament and the voters. Just about every decision it renders goes against the Crown, revealing a biased, expensive, and expanding waste of taxpayer money.
Just in recent months, the Waitangi Tribunal has been investigating the Government’s education changes, its decision to clarify Treaty clauses in legislation, disability support and more. All of these are matters for our democratically elected Parliament to be debating and considering, not for an activist Tribunal to be trying to insert itself into.
This is a significant policy win, but we need to push it over the finish line.
It is great to see ACT putting forward this policy. It is actually very similar to a policy I raised on behalf of the National Party back in 2005 - to wind up the Tribunal and set a clear end date for Treaty settlements.
We are now on the cusp of actually seeing the Waitangi Tribunal disestablished. But to make this a reality, we need today's National Party and NZ First to step up and publicly support this policy as well.
[Click here to sign the Hobson’s Pledge Petition to Disestablish the Waitangi Tribunal]
Many Hobson's Pledge supporters have already signed our petition, and if that includes you, I want to sincerely thank you for your support.
We will also be directly engaging Christopher Luxon and Winston Peters on this matter, seeking their public statements of support for this policy. Hobson's Pledge supporters and the wider public deserve to know their views, and their parties', on this matter.
Your Support in Action
This momentum is only possible because of dedicated supporters like you who keep Hobson's Pledge on the front lines.
Thanks to your generosity, our recent campaign supporting brave people and stories like Davina Smolders and Janet Dickson received an incredible response. Because of your backing, we were able to bring massive public and media attention to Janet’s case—demonstrating the power of Hobson’s Pledge to hold decision-makers accountable and expose injustice when the mainstream narrative tries to look away.
We are making a real impact, but pushing the Coalition Government to formally adopt ACT’s policy and wind up the Tribunal will require a massive public effort over the coming weeks.
With your help, we can ensure every New Zealander lives under one law for all, with one shared future.
Thank you for standing with us.
