Proposal to standardise Treaty references
Would standardise references to the Treaty in legislation without substantively changing their legal effect.
References to Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi (Standardisation) Amendment Bill
What's changing
- References would use both “Treaty of Waitangi” and “te Tiriti o Waitangi”.
- Different descriptive Treaty provisions would use a standard form of wording.
- References to Treaty principles would be retained.
- Minor and technical wording differences would be made consistent without substantively changing legal effect.
Who's affected
People and organisations using legislation that contains references to the Treaty or Treaty principles would be affected.
When
This is a proposal just introduced and is still going through Parliament; no start date is stated.
Background
The government says the Bill would make Treaty references clearer and more consistent, while not substantively changing their legal effect. It follows a coalition agreement commitment to review legislation containing references to Treaty principles.