New Zealand to introduce policy to reinterpret founding document

By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand said on Wednesday it will draft a bill aimed at reinterpreting country's founding agreement, even as two of three governing parties say they will not support the bill becoming law.

The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, signed between hundreds of Maori chiefs and the British crown, lays down a set of principles under which the two parties agreed to govern. The interpretation of those principles guide legislation and policy today, while the treaty also underpins claims of Maori sovereignty.

Associate Justice Minister David Seymour said the cabinet had agreed to the Treaty Principles Bill being drafted which would redefine how those principles are viewed and this will be introduced to parliament later in the year.

"The purpose of the Treaty Principles Bill is for Parliament to define the principles of the Treaty, provide certainty and clarity, and promote a national conversation about their place in our constitutional arrangements," he said in a statement.

Seymour said the bill will include the principle that the New Zealand government has the full power to govern and make laws; will recognise the right of Indigenous people and enshrine that everyone is equal before the law.

The legislation is a policy of Seymour's ACT New Zealand, which garnered 8.6% of the party vote at the 2023 election.

Coalition partners, the National Party and New Zealand First, both agreed to support the legislation through the first of three readings in their coalition agreement. However, both have said they will not support it to become legislation, and opposition parties are against it, meaning chances of it becoming law are very low.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told a press conference on Monday the party's position remained that it would not support the bill past the first reading.

The legislation is controversial as it is seen by many Maori and their supporters as undermining the rights of the country's Indigenous people, who make up around 20% of the population of 5.3 million.

Maori culture and identity has enjoyed a renaissance in recent decades, helped by policies aimed at redressing some of the wrongdoings of early colonial governments, but Maori are still over-represented in measures of social and economic disadvantage.

ACT and others has railed against "co-governance" or the sharing of some management between the state and Indigenous people, arguing non-Indigenous citizens are losing out because of policies specifically designed for Maori uplift.

The coalition, which took office last year, has started undoing policies of previous governments, particularly those promoting the official use of the Maori language and the enhancement of Indigenous living standards and rights.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)