Formats and related files:
Forest & Bird Youth believes the Treaty Principles Bill - introduced in 2024 - 2025 for public consultation - redefines or diminishes current Treaty principles and threatens the regenerative approach that Māori environmental values can bring. As rangatahi Māori, Pākeha, and tau iwi, Forest & Bird Youth is concerned that the Treaty Principles Bill threatens the ability of law to safeguard the natural environment for future generations, and deny Māori rangatahi the right to step in, protect, and speak for their whenua and taonga.
Read her full written submission here.
F&B Youth's Campaigns Hub Leader Petra Cogger (age 15) prepared and delivered the written submission on 7 January 2025, and presented a powerful oral submission to the Parliament's Justice Select Committee via video conference from Whakatū Nelson on 17 February 2025.
Watch her full oral submission below.
Credit or caption
Parliament Justice Committee Recordings - 17 February 2025
NZ Herald covered Petra's submission, quoting how Petra "slams" the bill by saying it has created a major sense of distrust for rangatahi towards the Government. Read the whole article here.
The Spinoff covered Petra's "impassioned" submission and how she earned the praise of the subcommittee. Read the whole article here.
Forest & Bird (and F&B Youth) is an environmental non-profit organisation.
How is our work connected to the Treaty Principles Bill?
Why does this matter for the environment?
Forest & Bird has a long association with Māori, as shown by this 1924 pānuitanga notice, calling to prevent other native birds disappearing like the moa. It was distributed by the Society, then known as the Native Bird Protection Society, throughout Aotearoa in places the like Hokianga, Kāpiti Coast, Whanganui, Taranaki, and the Bay of Plenty.
The relationship of Māori to the environment is enshrined in law, the basis of which is the Treaty of Waitangi, or Te Tiriti. Treaty principles allow tangata whenua to hold the Crown to account for breaches of Te Tiriti across key laws like the Environment Act, Conservation Act, Crown Minerals Act and Resource Management Act.
Today, that ability is under threat. Forest & Bird’s constitution is clear that we will “take all reasonable steps within the power of the Society for the preservation and protection of the indigenous flora and fauna and the natural features of New Zealand.” That is why we are opposing the Treaty Principles Bill and standing up for the rights of iwi, hapū and whānau to protect te Taiao.