ACT sets out plan to wind up Waitangi Tribunal

The ACT Party wants to wind up the Waitangi Tribunal, saying its contemporary inquiries have become increasingly ideological and expansive.The party is campaigning on four reforms that it says will end the tribunal's contemporary jurisdiction, and move the country on.ACT leader David Seymour, who has previously branded the tribunal as "increasingly activist", said while the tribunal had made an important contribution, particularly in helping address historical grievances, the tribunal that existed today was different to the institution established in 1975."Through urgent and kaupapa inquiries, the tribunal now passes judgement on day-to-day government policy. It proposes alternative policy settings and seeks to steer decisions that properly belong to elected governments and Parliament. This is not the tribunal's role and never was," Seymour said.ACT's policy document stated every historical claim before the tribunal should be heard and resolved, limited to claims lodged by the statutory deadline of 1 September 2008.This would end the tribunal's power to inquire into contemporary government policy, conduct, and decisions."The Tribunal should not operate as a parallel policy institution, producing its own prescriptions for how elected Governments should exercise their mandate," the document said.The government has already launched a major review of the Tribunal's functions, but it is yet to be released publicly.The review, which was part of National and New Zealand First's coalition agreement, promised to "refocus the scope, purpose, and nature" of the tribunal's inquiries back to their "original intent".Lecturer for Māori Laws and Philosophy at Te Wānanga o Raukawa Carwyn Jones previously told RNZ that by examining contemporary issues, the tribunal was focused on what the legislation intended, and it was unclear what the government meant by original intent.Carwyn Jones.RNZ / Mark Papalii"The historical claims are, of course, winding down, and in fact, the tribunal can no longer accept claims which relate to historical matters. So the tribunal, when it was originally set up, was designed precisely to assess contemporary Crown policy, law, action, through the lens of the principles of the Treaty," he told RNZ in August.Newsroom has reported the unreleased review does not recommend a curtailing of the tribunal's ability to launch kaupapa inquiries.In contrast to the government's plans and ACT's proposal, Te Pāti Māori wants to amend the Treaty of Waitangi ACT 1975 to make Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding on the Crown, giving the tribunal more power to investigate and enforce breaches.This, Te Pāti Māori said, was a "bottom line" for any coalition negotiations, along with the establishment of an independent Te Tiriti Commission.