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Register your support for the Treaty Principles Bill. We'll keep you updated on the campaign, and your backing makes it easier to persuade Parliament to support the Bill to a referendum.
ACT's Treaty Principles Bill would confirm in law that all New Zealanders have equal rights, as promised by the Treaty of Waitangi.
ACT believes every child born in New Zealand deserves the same respect and dignity, including equality before the law.
The Treaty Principles Bill would restore the mana of our founding document by ensuring it delivers what it originally promised in 1840: nga tikanga katoa rite tahi – the same rights and duties for all New Zealanders.
Article 1: kawanatanga katoa o o ratou whenua
The New Zealand Government has the right to govern all New Zealanders
Article 2: ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani te tino rangatiratanga o o ratou whenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa
The New Zealand Government will honour all New Zealanders in the chieftainship of their land and all their property
Article 3: a ratou nga tikanga katoa rite tahi
All New Zealanders are equal under the law with the same rights and duties
The Treaty stood for 135 years until 1975 when the then-Labour Government passed the Treaty of Waitangi Act. The Treaty of Waitangi Act stated the Treaty had principles, and it was the job of the Waitangi Tribunal to interpret them. Since then, the Tribunal, the courts, and the public service have gradually built up the principles, but New Zealanders as a whole have never been democratically consulted on these Treaty principles.
The Treaty Principles Bill will not change the Treaty itself. That was set in 1840 and will remain forever. What we are seeking to do is continue the process of defining the Treaty principles, for the first time incorporating the voices of all people through a democratic Parliamentary process, instead of through the Tribunal or the courts.
Register your support for the Treaty Principles Bill. We'll keep you updated on the campaign, and your backing makes it easier to persuade Parliament to support the Bill to a referendum.