About the Treaty

What is the Treaty of Waitangi?
A treaty is a formal agreement between two states or sovereign powers. The Treaty of Waitangi was formally agreed between the Maori tribes of Aotearoa/New Zealand and the Queen of England in 1840.

However, not all tribes signed the Treaty. There were 512 signatories, 30 to the English version and 482 to the Maori version. Both versions are accepted, and either can be used, by the Waitangi Tribunal. If there is any legal disagreement over interpretation, the interpretation accepted by the party who did not draft the Treaty, i.e. the Maori, is legally binding.

What happened after the Treaty was signed?
Legislation that weakened the Treaty was put into place within a few years of 1840. This included the Lands Ordinance Act 1841, and the Native Land Acts of 1862, 1865 and 1873. Maori resistance to these laws resulted in more legislation, such as the New Zealand Settlements Act 1933 and the Suppression of Tohunga Act 1907.

The combined effect of this legislation was to reduce Maori land ownership to about 3.7 million acres by 1965, of which only about 700,000 acres was actually occupied by Maori. Most of the unoccupied land was either unsuitable for farming or forestry, or tied up in long-term leases.

The loss of land and the suppression of their culture through additional measures, such as punishing Maori children for using their language at school, showed Maori that the Treaty was regarded by many Pakeha as a meaningless document which they could easily ignore. Only Maori challenges to that idea since the 1970s have brought about any change in attitude.

What is the Treaty's legal standing in Aotearoa/New Zealand?
A treaty has no legal standing unless it is written into the law of the country. The only Acts that contain references to the Treaty of Waitangi at present are the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986, the Environment Act 1986 and the Conservation Act 1987. The Waitangi Day Act 1985 includes the Treaty as a Schedule to the Act.

The Waitangi Tribunal was established under the Treat of Waitangi Acts in 1975 in order to provide a forum where claims of breaches against the principles of the Treaty by the Crown could be heard. For the first 10 years, however, the Tribunal could only hear complaints that had occurred from 1975 onward. So, in 1985, the Act was amended to allow for claims back to 1840.

What are the powers of the Waitangi Tribunal?
The Waitangi Tribunal investigates land claims, then makes recommendations to Government who decides what action to take.

The State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986, however, requires that titles to State-owned enterprises land, must carry a warning stating that the corporation must follow any Tribunal findings about ownership of the land. If private citizens buy land from a State-owned enterprise, the Tribunal can order that land to be re-acquired by the Government on behalf of established Maori owners. The purchaser must then receive full compensation.

Do Maori want to reclaim all land lost since 1840?
The people of New Zealand have been assured of their rights to privately-owned land.

The second article of the Treaty granted to the Crown the right to buy land which Maori owners were willing to sell. Some of this land was then sold at a higher price to settlers. Maori grievances relate to those transactions as well as to claims of unjust confiscation of land which is now privately owned and to legislation which eroded Maori land ownership.

Maori land claims, however, are the responsibility of the Crown. With the exception of State-owned enterprises land, claims are for compensation against the Crown. Maori can be compensated either by direct payment, other financial measures, or through the transfer of Crown land.

What about Maori fishing rights as established by Article 2 of the Treaty?
After lengthy discussion and consultation, the Government enacted the Maori Fisheries Act 1989 which provided that 10 per cent of the fishing quota would be delivered to Maori by 1992, by the establishment of a Maori Fisheries Commission, comprising five Maori and two Pakeha, with a commercial branch, Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd. The Commission also has the responsibility to provide financial, technical and research assistance to Maori seeking to develop fishing industries.

Why do Maori get special treatment in education, housing and other areas?
There are two answers to this question:

• Maori have a special status through being tangata whenua, the indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand
  Institutional, cultural and sometimes direct discrimination since 1840 has brought about Maori disadvantage, especially in the areas of education, health, employment and access to justice. Therefor, affirmative action measures, such as special places in (teachers) colleges of education, medical schools, law schools and polytechnic training courses, are seen as ways of redressing that discrimination.
  Affirmative action is recognised as a way to put right past imbalances, to bring the disadvantaged to the levels of the advantaged so they can then compete on equal terms.
  Sections in the Human Rights Commission Act 1977 and the Race Relations Act 1971 provide for these measures.
  
• The Iwi Transition Agency (Te Tira Ahu Iwi) and the Ministry of Maori Affairs (Manatu Maori) were established to replace the Department of Maori Affairs, and they continue to recognise the right of Maori to administer and determine Maori policies.
  Much of the money administered by the Iwi Transition Agency is Maori money, such as that from unclaimed land, compensation money, donations or bequests and interest from investments.