Treaty & Māori Affairs · Party position

Green on Treaty & Māori Affairs

Te Tiriti as founding document; tino rangatiratanga upheld across all policy

The Greens say Te Tiriti o Waitangi is New Zealand's founding document and that Māori authority over their own affairs must be upheld. They want the Waitangi Tribunal to be fully funded and given binding powers. They support returning land to Māori and resolving all Treaty breaches. They also want Māori values and leadership built into all their policies, not just one separate policy.

What they say they'll do

Give the Waitangi Tribunal binding decision-making authority to address Treaty breaches
Create Te Rangatiratanga Trust, owned and governed by hapū and iwi, with $2.44 billion in Crown funding to support marae
Allocate $400 million for urgent and immediate marae restoration over four years
Allocate $2 billion into a long-term investment fund for marae and community development
Support return of Māori land (whenua) to Māori ownership
Incorporate Māori perspectives across all party policies, including housing, education, and governance

Who this affects

Māori communities, hapū and iwi

The policy proposes dedicated funding and a Māori-governed trust to support marae maintenance and long-term community development, with Māori having decision-making control over the funds.

Marae committees

The policy would replace short-term, capped government funding with access to two new funds — one for urgent repairs and one for long-term investment — to make planning more stable.

All New Zealanders

The party says honouring Te Tiriti benefits everyone, and frames marae as community infrastructure that serves wider communities, not only Māori.

In their own words

“Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the foundation for a just and thriving Aotearoa.”

“The Waitangi Tribunal must be fully resourced and have binding decision-making authority to ensure Tiriti breaches are addressed.”

“When marae are strong, communities are stronger. The Green Party policy Te Waonui a Tāne will recognise and resource marae to keep our communities connected and safe, for all of us”

Verify at Green — official policy page

Summarised neutrally from Green’s own official policy (as at 2026-09-07) and checked by an editor. Nothing is paraphrased without the source linked. Read the original ↗ Arapono is non-partisan. Compare all parties on Treaty & Māori Affairs →

In depth — from Green’s policy document

Te Tiriti o Waitangi policy

This is the Green Party’s foundational Tiriti policy rather than a costed programme: it sets the constitutional position every other Green policy is required to align with. It affirms the te reo Māori texts of He Whakaputanga 1835 and Te Tiriti o Waitangi 1840 as the country’s founding documents, seeks a fully resourced Waitangi Tribunal with binding authority, supports the return of whenua and restitution for breaches, and upholds UNDRIP.

What it is

A foundational policy

Founding texts

He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti

In depth — from Green’s policy document

Māori Manifesto — kaupapa Māori and Te Tiriti commitments

The Green Party’s Māori Manifesto covers around thirty policy areas. This covers its two Māori-specific chapters, which are where it names legislation: amending the Treaty of Waitangi Act so Te Tiriti is the authoritative text, giving the Waitangi Tribunal binding power to order land returned, removing “full and final” from Treaty settlements, amending the Public Works Act to protect Māori land, and a Marae Resilience Fund.

Treaty of Waitangi Act

Te Tiriti as authoritative

Waitangi Tribunal

Binding recommendations

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