Urgent Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into government's removal of schools' Treaty obligations

Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews The Waitangi Tribunal has granted urgency to an inquiry into the government's decision to scrap school boards' legal duty to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and reset Te Mātaiaho, the New Zealand Curriculum. Northland iwi Ngāti Hine and hapū Te Kapotai, alongside the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), filed the claim in November last year, arguing the changes undermined Māori rangatiratanga, partnership and equity in education. The claimants say the removal of Treaty obligations from school boards risks causing significant and irreversible harm to Māori learners and their whānau. In the Waitangi Tribunal's decision, it said the changes had constitutional significance and met the threshold for urgency. "Any legislative change altering the nature and manner of the Crown's Treaty obligations has a constitutional significance. That is especially so in a case where Māori have not been consulted." While the Tribunal noted the Crown had acknowledged there was no engagement with Māori on the decision to amend the law, it said removing the statutory obligation for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti had "immediate consequences for the status of the Treaty and for tamariki Māori within the education system". The Tribunal also rejected the Crown's argument that other inquiries or future policy reviews could address the issue, saying those pathways would not provide "timely or targeted scrutiny". Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau The requirement for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti was introduced in 2020 as part of reforms to the Education and Training Act. The government later removed the provision in 2025, with Education Minister Erica Stanford saying at the time of the anouncement that Treaty obligations sit with the Crown, not schools. "School boards should have direction and we are giving very clear direction. You need to ensure equitable outcomes for Māori students, you need to be offering te reo Māori and you need to be culturally competent," she said at the time. Since the change, more than 1800 kura - around 70 percent of schools across Aotearoa - had publicly reaffirmed they would continue giving effect to Te Tiriti. The Tribunal acknowledged the number of schools that had pledged to continue honouring Te Tiriti in its decision. However, it said the absence of a statutory framework could make those commitments inconsistent across the edcation system. Photo: NZEI supplied NZEI Te Riu Roa president and claimant Ripeka Lessels welcomed the Tribunal's decision, saying it sent a strong signal about the seriousness of the issue. "I'm absolutely elated that they have granted urgency. It isn't something that is done lightly for the Waitangi Tribunal," she told RNZ. Lessels said the decision to grant urgency reflected growing public and sector support for Te Tiriti. "There was a time in our history where we didn't have it, we didn't have to give effect to it at all. And so nobody did. Nobody taught it. Nobody made references to it. Schools certainly didn't see the importance of it until the Education and Training Act put in section 127. So that's why it's really, really important that we challenge what this government has unilaterally decided around moving the Te Tiriti o Waitangi." She said removing the Treaty obligation signalled where the government's priorities lay. "By removing section 127 of the Education and Training Act, they are clearly deprioritising Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, te reo Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori from legislation." Lessels said the Tribunal inquiry was an opportunity to challenge the government's decision. "We have to challenge this removal. We don't want future generations looking back and thinking this happened and nobody stood up against it." Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Speaking to RNZ, Ngāti Hine kaumātua and claimant Te Waihoroi Shortland said removing the obligation felt politically motivated. "When you have it dismissed out of hand, for no other reason than people feel like they are losing something or they're giving up something to Māori when they recognise the articles of Te Tiriti in any way, shape or form ... it plays out to a largely Pākehā constituent that has no time to consider these things," he said. "People forget that two nations made this deal (Te Tiriti o Waitangi). One of them was Māori and one of them was the Crown of England ... then one nation turns around and swallows the other one up and says, everything we decide is for your good. "It's been that way for 186 years. These kind of actions remind us that we haven't moved very far in all of that time." Asked why Ngāti Hine felt it was important to file a claim, Shortland said his people were following the guidance of their tūpuna, Te Ruku Kawiti. "In his ōhaki to Ngāti Hine - his last legacy statement to Ngāti Hine - he challenged all Ngāti Hine descendants to hold fast to our faith and to protect the commitments of our tūpuna ......

Urgent Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into government's removal of schools' Treaty obligations

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