Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer announced the policy, emphasising Māori voices in decision-making.
The commissioner would audit government actions and assess legislation, ensuring alignment with Te Tiriti.
Te Pāti Māori will demand the establishment of a new parliamentary commissioner with “teeth” to address proposed legislation that violates Te Tiriti o Waitangi, should they form part of a government.
However, it’s unclear what level of power the commissioner would have with co-leader Rawiri Waititi suggesting it could have stopped the Treaty Principles Bill, currently at select committee, from progressing through Parliament.
Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer announced the new policy to journalists ahead of their pōwhiri at Waitangi, where they are today being welcomed onto the Treaty Grounds alongside members of Waikato-Tainui and the Kīngitanga.
In a statement released alongside the media stand-up, Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer said their party would campaign on creating an independent Parliamentary Commissioner, who they described as an “advocate ensuring that Te Tiriti is honoured across all government policies and decisions made in Parliament”.
“The commissioner would have the role of auditing the Government in being honourable of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It will provide independent advice to Parliament, and ensure Māori voices are central to decision-making processes,” Ngarewa-Packer said.
The statement called on all political parties to support the policy.
The co-leaders indicated the policy would be a bottom-line in any governing arrangement. Photo / Dean Purcell
Speaking to journalists, Waititi argued the policy reflected the party’s view that the Treaty trumped the mandate that existed within a democratically-elected Parliament, stating that New Zealand’s Parliament wouldn’t exist without Te Tiriti.
The pair explained the commissioner would be able to assess proposed legislation before the House, describing the role as a “Te Tiriti auditor” that was distinct from advice Parliament already received on bills impacting Te Tiriti.
Waititi said the proposed commissioner would have had the power to scrap Act’s Treaty Principles Bill, currently at select committee.
“Given the teeth that we believe it should have, yes absolutely.
“We want to give this commissioner some teeth and what it does is it becomes the arbiter for anything when it comes to legislation being created.
“It should be a Tiriti veto ... Te Tiriti protects everybody, it doesn’t just protect Māori, we have to get that out of our brains.”
More than 120 people participated in the welcome ceremony for the Māori Queen and members of Te Pāti Māori. Photo / Dean Purcell
Waititi said further detail about the commissioner’s enforcement powers would be established “further down the track”.
Asked if the policy was a bottom line for the party going into a governing arrangement, they both said the protection of Te Tiriti was always non-negotiable.
“We make a promise to Aotearoa that a bottom line for Te Pāti Māori heading into any coalition kōrero and agreements with any party will have to ensure that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is at the centre of any of the decision-making for Aotearoa,” Waititi said.
Ngarewa-Packer pointed to the potential of Labour supporting the thrust of the policy.
“We’ve already heard [Labour leader] Chris Hipkins say that he would repeal the Regulatory Standards Bill and he would repeal any threat to Te Tiriti.”
In a statement, Hipkins said Te Pāti Māori was its own party and could announce its own policy, but stated Labour took its Treaty obligations seriously while in Government.
“That’s why we established Te Arawhiti, which was designed to keep the Crown accountable to its Te Tiriti obligation.”
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said such proposals were “worth exploring” as part of a broader discussion about the constitutional reform she believed was necessary to honour the Treaty.
National’s Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka described the proposal as an “interesting idea” but said it hadn’t been discussed at caucus or Cabinet.
Act leader David Seymour called on the other Opposition parties to rule out working with Te Pāti Māori if “breaking democracy is a bottom line”.
“Labour and the Greens need to rule out ever being in Government with them, or they’ll never be in Government with anyone. New Zealand voters will see to it, and Labour and the Greens will be collateral damage.”
Te Pāti Māori would not be in Waitangi tomorrow for the Parliament pōwhiri with Waititi travelling to the East Coast for the tangi of Dame Iritana Te Rangi Tāwhiwhirangi and Ngarewa-Packer heading to Auckland for another Waitangi Day event.
Māori Queen Ngā wai hono i te pō is welcomed onto the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Photo / Dean Purcell
Today, the party joined Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po as they were welcomed onto the marae at Waitangi by more than 120 men, women and children.
The Māori Queen walked on supported by a large cohort of Kīngitanga officials and Māori leaders.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
