Treaty Principles Bill: Record number of submissions leads to issues submitting on bootcamps, social welfare bills

The record number of public submissions on the controversial Treaty Principles Bill caused technical issues for Parliament’s website, affecting submissions on two other bills.

More than 300,000 submissions have been lodged via Parliament’s website on Act leader David Seymour’s bill, which proposes replacing the many treaty principles developed over several decades with three new ones.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Act’s other coalition partner NZ First have already said they will not support the bill past its first reading.

However, the bill remains the subject of intense criticism and sparked a historic hīkoi late last year, triple the size of the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed protest.

Justice Select Committee chair James Meager, pictured during his maiden speech in Parliament in December 2023. That committee is hearing submissions on the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Hundreds of thousands of public submissions have been received since submissions opened late last year.

The original deadline was extended after some people had trouble submitting as Parliament’s website struggled to manage the unprecedented demand.

The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge into central Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig

That volume of submissions also led to issues for people wanting to submit on proposed legislation regarding the Government’s youth bootcamps and the new social welfare traffic light system.

Both bills are being heard by the Social Services and Community Committee, chaired by National MP Joseph Mooney.

“The Social Services and Community Committee is aware that some individuals experienced issues with the Parliament website during the submissions period,” Parliament said in a statement.

The deadlines for both bills have been extended until January 24.

“Please email the committee secretariat at ssc.legislation@parliament.govt.nz to facilitate this,” Parliament said. Any email submissions received after 12pm, Friday January 24, 2025 would not be accepted.

The proposed legislation that would introduce military-style bootcamps for young people has become a point of contention over the camps’ efficacy, after a young person allegedly reoffended following a trial.

The bill would also introduce a new sentencing category for serious youth offenders.

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.