{"id":203269,"date":"2025-12-26T20:59:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T20:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/203269\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T20:59:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T20:59:12","slug":"a-year-of-law-changes-impacting-maori","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/203269\/","title":{"rendered":"A year of law changes impacting M\u0101ori"},"content":{"rendered":"

Major law changes implemented in 2025 have seen a decrease in public sector obligations and targeted initiatives that support M\u0101ori rights, development and wellbeing, according to critics. <\/p>\n

The areas affected include social services, marine and coastal rights and education. The changes compound last year\u2019s wave of legislation that saw the disestablishment of the M\u0101ori health authority, reinstating polls on M\u0101ori wards, and challenges to environmental and customary rights through fast-track proposals.<\/p>\n

The coalition Government said the changes were variously about making children safer, cutting red tape and improving educational success for M\u0101ori. But critics talked of sadness and insult.<\/p>\n

The key changes:<\/p>\n

Social services not required to consider whakapapa<\/p>\n

In April, the Oranga Tamariki Amendment Act 2025 repealed section 7AA<\/a> that required the agency to ensure policies and practices reduce disparities, give regard to the mana and whakapapa of the child, and develop strategic relationships with iwi and M\u0101ori organisations.<\/p>\n

Act MP and Minister for Children Karen Chhour said removing Section 7AA \u201creinforces the need to put the safety of the child first\u201d.<\/p>\n

She told RNZ at the time that iwi, wh\u0101nau and hap\u016b should still be considered, \u201cbut they shouldn\u2019t be the first consideration\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, a regulatory impact statement from Oranga Tamariki in March said: \u201cThere is no empirical evidence to support the notion that section 7AA has driven practice decisions that have led to changing care arrangements.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2019, section 7AA was inserted into the Act in response to concerns that child protection services were failing young M\u0101ori and their wh\u0101nau, highlighted by reports<\/a> of harrowing baby uplifts<\/a> by Oranga Tamariki.<\/p>\n

Tougher legal test for M\u0101ori coastline rights<\/p>\n

The Marine and Coastal Area (MACA) (Takutai Moana) Amendment Bill implemented a tougher legal test for recognition of customary rights for M\u0101ori. The test applies retrospectively to July 2024 which, going against advice from their own officials<\/a>, overturned marine title rulings awarded to M\u0101ori across 280km of coastline.<\/p>\n

\"Treaty<\/p>\n

Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith said: \u201cIt\u2019s not a desirable situation, obviously we thought long and hard about this, it\u2019s very unusual for the government to overturn court decisions in this way, but we think it\u2019s significant and necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Far North Ng\u0101tiwai leader Aperahama Edwards said they were \u201cbeyond saddened\u201d and \u201coutraged\u201d at the idea of revisiting the \u201chorrific\u201d process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve been through the Waitangi Tribunal, a kaupapa inquiry, the High Court, we’ve advanced MACA claims in our tribal territory \u2013 not by our own desire to, but because we had to. Some of our elders who participated in those hearing spaces have had since passed away, and to hear\u2026 that the amendments being proposed will be enacted in retrospect \u2013 all of that work for nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Treaty Principles Bill \u201c2.0\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Regulations Minister David Seymour, the Regulatory Standards Amendment Act\u2019s aim is to \u201censure regulatory decisions are based on principles of good law-making and economic efficiency\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Regulations<\/p>\n

Regulations Minister David Seymour (Source: Q and A)<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a nutshell: If red tape is holding us back, because politicians find regulating politically rewarding, then we need to make regulating less rewarding for politicians with more sunlight on their activities,\u201d Seymour said in a statement at the time.<\/p>\n

Critics of this amendment bill dubbed it the Treaty Principles Bill \u201c2.0\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Law academic Dr Carwyn Jones said the Regulatory Standards Bill will provide a means to weaken Treaty protections and remove the legal meaning and effects of Te Tiriti from the law, \u201cwhich is what the Treaty Principles Bill\u2019s all about\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think I see the Regulatory Standards Bill really is just finishing off the work that was started by the Treaty Principles Bill, [that was] ultimately rejected<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schools not required to \u201cgive effect\u201d to Te Tiriti o Waitangi<\/p>\n

The Education and Training Amendment Act (No. 2) cuts the requirement for school boards to \u201cgive effect\u201d to Te Tiriti o Waitangi which includes ensuring plans, policies and curriculum reflected local iwi history, tikanga and m\u0101tauranga.<\/p>\n

It drew a significant amount of criticism which led many schools to reaffirm their commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi by signing up to have their names appear on a public list called Te R\u0101rangi Rangatira.<\/p>\n

Heidi Hayward, principal of Dunedin North Intermediate School, told 1News<\/a> her school board felt both \u201cinsulted and patronised\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t really see Te Tiriti as a compliance task as a board and I think, arguably, as a nation we’ve actually moved beyond that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to the backlash from schools, Education Minister Erica Stanford said her message was for achievement to improve, \u201cespecially for our tamariki M\u0101ori\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cIf those schools are doing all of the things that we’re asking of them in Section 127, including offering te reo, being culturally responsive, and ensuring that tamariki M\u0101ori have equal outcomes, and then if they wish to honour the Treaty and uphold the Treaty above and beyond that then they are absolutely welcome to do that, and that’s what they would like to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Education<\/p>\n

Education Minister Erica Stanford (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cWe are raising M\u0101ori achievement in reading, writing and mathematics – that is upholding the Treaty and that’s what I expect schools to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stephen Lethbridge, principal of Auckland\u2019s Pt Chevalier School-Rangi-mata-rau, said in November Te Tiriti was never meant to be optional.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our foundational document and removing it from the Education Act just means that we can take it or leave it, and that\u2019s the wrong message to be sending our M\u0101ori wh\u0101nau.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that the school was always focused on raising academic achievement.<\/p>\n

A petition with almost 24,000 signatures was delivered to Parliament on December 8, calling on the Government to reinstate the requirement for school boards to implement Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It was received by the Minister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Major law changes implemented in 2025 have seen a decrease in public sector obligations and targeted initiatives that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4432,111,43,139,69,10872],"class_list":{"0":"post-203269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-maori-issues","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-torangapu"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}