Rauemi | Resources

The government is breaching Te Tiriti in form and in process – by refusing good faith engagement and ignoring the concerns of its Te Tiriti partners.

Below is a list of some of these attacks. It is not exhaustive, but demonstrates the collective, destructive impact of the government’s actions on Māori, on the relationships between Māori and the Crown, and on Aotearoa as a whole.

Direct attacks

Limiting the constitutional role and impact of Te Tiriti o Waitangi

1. Carrying out a review of Treaty clauses in legislation to remove, replace or redefine the influence of Te Tiriti across 19 pieces of legislation.
2. Introducing – under urgency in the last week of Parliament – bills to weaken Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations in legislation.
3. Introducing the harmful and widely publicly opposed Treaty Principles Bill.
4. Pushing to weaken the Waitangi Tribunal and largely ignored the Tribunal’s findings.

Rolling back Māori rights and involvement in local government and environmental protection

5. Pushing through controversial Marine and Coastal Area law changes, retrospectively eroding Māori rights to customary marine title, leading to a Waitangi Tribunal inquiry and raising concerns about the constitutional balance between Parliament and the Judiciary.
6. Forcing a referendum on Māori Wards in local government, despite widespread opposition from Māori and councils.
7. Reforming resource management legislation to restrict tangata whenua involvement.

Cutting initiatives aimed at improving Māori health outcomes

8. Disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora – the Māori Health Authority, sparking a major Waitangi Tribunal hearing.
9. Removing health leaders who support cultural safety, Te Tiriti and equity from statutory health councils including the Medical Council and Nursing Council.
10. Removing requirements for “respectful interaction with Māori” in cultural competencies in its new health regulation bill.
11. Scrapping the lowered bowel cancer-screening age for Māori and Pasifika who face a higher risk of bowel cancer at a younger age than other New Zealanders.
12. Halting proposed access to rongoā Māori services in prisons.
13. Reversing the life-saving decision to prioritise type 2 diabetes medication for Māori and Pacific peoples.

Attacking te reo, Te Tiriti and local histories in the education system

14. Removing Aotearoa New Zealand histories as a standalone subject.
15. Rewriting the New Zealand curriculum to demote Māori knowledge and content, local curriculum, Aotearoa histories and Te Tiriti.
16. Cutting funding for te reo Māori training for teachers.
17. Scrapping Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations in the Education Act, despite opposition from more than a thousand schools across the country.
18. Removing Māori words from early-reader books for children.

Diminishing the status of te reo in public life

19. Requiring government agencies to prioritise English over te reo Māori in their names and communications, sparking an urgent Waitangi Tribunal inquiry.
20. Redesigning passports so English appears before te reo Māori.
21. Ditching bilingual road signs.
22. Rejecting a joint application from iwi and council to correct te reo Māori place names.

And a whole lot more ….

23. Removing the responsibility of Oranga Tamariki to work in partnership with iwi and hapū and keep Māori children in state care connected to their whakapapa.
24. Cutting funding for pre-sentencing cultural reports which give more context to offending and help address the drivers of crime.
25. Removing funding from Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga which was established to address chronic shortfalls in Māori housing.
26. Sudden cancellation of research funding including the He Tipu Ka Hua Māori research initiative, and progress towards co-governance in research, such as developed through the National Science Challenges.
27. Ending the fund providing support for climate resilience projects for marae – while marae are increasing providing critical community infrastructure during severe weather.
28. Weakening of Māori and Te Tiriti capacity and capability across the public sector.
29. Avoiding their statutory responsibilities to protect taonga – including going to court to argue against protecting one of the most significant archaeological finds in New Zealand.
30. Making budget cuts to Māori programmes.

Attacks which amplify inequity for Māori

The following government actions are not specific to Māori, however their impacts will be disproportionate for Māori, as they amplify existing inequities. They make things worse for those already experiencing tougher conditions while further benefiting those who are already in advantaged positions.

Health

1. Restricting employment of front-line health workers as a result of budget cuts.
2. Cutting funding for disabled New Zealanders and their carers without consultation.
3. Rolling back smokefree legislation which public health academics say goes against evidence, tarnishes our international reputation, and risks lives. At the same time giving $200+ million in tax cuts to tobacco companies.

Income and social support

4. Introducing ineffective and punitive money management for those receiving income support.
5. Changing the rules so that welfare levels are indexed to inflation rather than wage growth, effectively reducing increases to income support.
6. Repealing Fair Pay Agreements impacting sector-wide collective bargaining.
7. Scrapping pay equity claims for thousands of workers under urgency.

Justice

8. Scrapping prisoner reduction targets and introducing law and order policies resulting in a record high prison population and skyrocketing costs.
9. Banning prisoners from voting through the Electoral Amendment Act.
10. Reintroducing the three strikes law despite no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate.

Housing

11. Allocating $9 billion in tax breaks for landlords while also:
12. Scrapping the construction of thousands of state homes and selling off state houses during an escalating housing crisis.
13. Tightening access to emergency housing grants leading to increased homelessness, while cutting funding from frontline services providing critical support for families living in emergency housing.
14. Introducing no-cause evictions for renters.
15. Announcing they will legislate Move-on Orders giving police extra powers to move on, fine and imprison unhoused people as young as 14 years old.

Care and protection

16. Cutting Oranga Tamariki’s early intervention services intended to protect children and keep them out of care.
17. Funding military-style bootcamps for young people, despite international and local evidence showing they don’t work.

Voter suppression

18. Ending same-day voter enrolment making it harder for people to vote and likely depressing Māori voter turnout.
19. Scrapping the Electoral Bill to lowering the voting age.

And more …

20. Passing the Regulatory Standards Bill, making it harder to pass regulation in the public interest, despite overwhelming opposition.
21. Slashing funding for free school lunches and removing contracts from local providers, leading to poor quality food and significant waste.
22. Promoting a Conservation Amendment Bill that would fundamentally shift the purpose of conservation towards economic development.
23. Reversing a ban on oil and gas exploration while climate-related disasters are on the increase.

See our accompanying Te Tiriti conversations election 2026 resources:
A guide to navigate conversations – encourage understanding of, and support, for Te Tiriti in the lead up to the election.
Some recent examples of Te Tiriti in action – work led by iwi/hapū and Māori organisations which is benefitting whole communities.