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To Parliament’s Justice Committee:
We oppose the Treaty Principles Bill in its entirety because it threatens the ability of law to safeguard the natural environment for future generations.
As the foundational document of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Treaty of Waitangi or Te Tiriti holds significant historical, cultural, and legal importance in relation to the rights of Māori and everyone who calls New Zealand home.
This includes the stewardship of land and natural resources. Over the past 50 years, Māori and other New Zealanders have turned to the Treaty – for instance, through the Waitangi Tribunal and the courts – to protect the places that are special to all of us. We all benefit from ways the Treaty can:
- Keep rivers and streams clean: Current Treaty principles helped catalyse Te Mana o te Wai, which recognises that protecting freshwater protects the health and well-being of the wider environment.
- Safeguard oceans: Forest & Bird has recently worked with Ngāti Kuta and Te Uri o Hikihiki to establish a marine protected area in the Bay of Islands.
- Uphold legislation: The Treaty is the basis for enshrining the Māori relationship to the environment in law. Treaty principles allow tangata whenua to hold the Crown to account for breaches of Te Tiriti across key laws like the Conservation Act and the Resource Management Act.
- Help environmental laws evolve: Connection or whanaungatanga can help us move forward together as a country, letting our native plants and animals thrive.
The Treaty Principles Bill instead redefines or diminishes current Treaty principles and threatens the regenerative approach that Māori environmental values can bring.
Aotearoa needs the Treaty, and the belief of interconnectedness between people and the natural environment that kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and manaakitanga (reciprocal care) can bring. Together we can protect our land, waterways, forests, and other critical ecosystems.
Forest & Bird is concerned that the Treaty Principles Bill threatens the ability of law to safeguard the natural environment for future generations.