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A parliamentary committee has given the thumb's down to an MP's bill that would have stopped judges from the High Court or Maori Land Court from sitting on the Waitangi Tribunal.
New Zealand First MP Pita Paraone drafted the Treaty of Waitangi (Removal of Conflict of Interest) Amendment Bill, which would have removed the ability of serving judges of the High Court or Maori Land Court from also sitting on the Waitangi Tribunal.
Instead, Mr Paraone said only retired judges should be able sit on the tribunal, which was established under 1975 legislation.
Legislation amended in 1998 allows for serving and retired judges of the High Court to act as members and as chairperson of the tribunal.
Since its establishment, there has been provision for the chief judge of the Maori Land Court to act as its chairman.
But Mr Paraone argued a person who was not a judge of the Maori Land Court - either a highly regarded New Zealander or a former judge of the High Court - should chair the Waitangi Tribunal.
The Waitangi Tribunal was a commission of inquiry only and did not need a judge at all, Mr Paraone said.
Parliament's justice and electoral select committee examined the bill and in its report, tabled today, recommended it "not be passed" into law.
"We consider that there is no inherent conflict of interest in sitting judges of the High Court or Maori Land Court serving on the Waitangi Tribunal or the chief judge of the Maori Land Court acting as the chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal."
It was not unusual for judges to be able to sit in more than one jurisdiction. For example, High Court judges sat on the Court of Appeal, while District Court judges and Maori Land Court judges could serve in the Environment Court.
"... we see no reason for considering the situation of Maori Land Court judges and serving High Court judges to be any different," the committee said.
It also said the Maori Land Court and Waitangi Tribunal required members with similar qualities -- an understanding of tribal structures, Maori land history, Maori customs and traditions.
The pool of judges who met this criteria was "simply too small" to avoid an overlap between the court and the tribunal.
- NZPA
