Treaty & Māori Affairs · Party position

Te Pāti Māori on Treaty & Māori Affairs

Te Tiriti-based constitutional change to return power to Māori

Te Pāti Māori wants to change New Zealand's constitution so it is based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They say this would give Māori, hapū, and iwi real decision-making power over their own lives, land, and resources. They also want to return land to Māori, give Māori authority over freshwater, and build Māori-led services in health, education, and justice.

What they say they'll do

Establish an Independent Te Tiriti Commission
Make Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding on the Crown
Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Commit to Te Tiriti-based constitutional change and strengthen Māori political authority and governance structures
Assert Māori rights and authority over freshwater and stop decisions being made without Māori consent
Progress land back and rangatiratanga commitments under Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Who this affects

Māori communities (iwi, hapū, whānau)

The proposals would give Māori communities more legal authority over decisions about land, water, health, education, and justice, and would make Treaty obligations harder for governments to remove.

All New Zealanders

Constitutional changes to entrench the Treaty would affect how Parliament and the Crown can act, applying to the whole country's governing arrangements.

Māori children in state care

The party says it will end the system that removes Māori children from their families and restore authority to whānau-led care.

In their own words

“Te Tiriti should not depend on who wins an election. For too long, governments have been able to weaken, remove, or ignore their Te Tiriti obligations.”

“Without constitutional transformation, every gain our people make can be undone by the next government. Mana motuhake means power must return to where it belongs: with tangata whenua, hapū, iwi, whānau, and our people.”

“This is not about Parliament giving Te Tiriti its authority. Parliament did not create Te Tiriti; it is about binding the Crown to the promises it already made.”

Verify at Te Pāti Māori — official policy page

Summarised neutrally from Te Pāti Māori’s own official policy (as at 2026-09-09) 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 Te Pāti Māori’s policy document · 6 August 2026

Making Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding

Te Pāti Māori would make Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding rather than advisory, establish a Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti, and require every Bill before Parliament to carry a Te Tiriti Impact Statement. The problem they identify is structural: the Tribunal can investigate, hear evidence and make findings, but a government can simply ignore them. It sits under their wider Mana Motuhake commitment to Te Tiriti-based constitutional change.

Tribunal findings

Would bind

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Te Pāti Māori on Treaty & Māori Affairs

What they say they'll do

Who this affects

In their own words

Making Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding

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