Calls to extend submissions deadline on Treaty Principles Bill

Wednesday, 8 January 2025

Hundreds of people were reportedly unable to make a submission on the Treaty Principles Bill after facing error messages on the submission portal as the deadline passed at midnight on Tuesday. (File photo)

The Justice Committee says it will meet on Thursday morning to discuss the Treaty Principles Bill amid calls to extend the submissions deadline on the bill.

Its thought tens of thousands of people have submitted.

Meanwhile, the National Party reiterated it would not be supporting the bill past the first reading, regardless of the outcome of the submissions.

It comes as hundreds of people were reportedly unable to make online submissions due to glitches in the system as “unprecedented numbers” tried to use the Parliament website submission portal in the lead up to the deadline, which was at midnight on Tuesday.

The controversial bill aims to hold a referendum on changing how the Treaty is applied across Government and law through a rewrite of the “Treaty principles”, which have developed over decades to translate the 1840 treaty between the Crown and Māori into the modern constitutional setting.

An “unprecedented number of submissions” caused error messages “or other issues” to come up for some submitters, Dr David Wilson, Clerk of the House of Representatives said. But the portal was open and working correctly on Tuesday evening. “It has not crashed and no submissions have been lost,” he said.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says she was copied into and received more than 500 emails from people unable to make submissions, late into Tuesday evening. (File photo)

However, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, co-leader of Te Pāti Māori, said she was copied into more than 500 emails to the committee with their submissions and requesting an extension, late into Tuesday evening, because they were unable to submit through the website.

One person finally got through at 2.30am. “It’s just a huge let down,” Ngarewa-Packer said.

“They should by now have front footed a solution … What they’re doing is like a dead duck in the water, there’s been absolute silence. It’s not good enough.”

Te Pāti Māori staff were busy trying to get as many physical copies printed, picked up and dropped off to Parliament before the 5pm deadline for physical copies on Wednesday.

Many of those who missed out on making a submission were those who had been mobilising others, including kura kaupapa Māori and Te Kōhanga Reo, she said.

“All New Zealanders have got the right to be able to engage in the system with confidence … it's unfair they’re being affected because they don't have Flash IT systems.

Crowds spilled out around Parliament as a hikoi protesting David Seymour's Treaty Principles Bill reached Wellington, with thousands of people making their voices heard loud and clear. Jenna Lynch reports.

“The reality is, if the Government's going to push these types of agendas, they should have made sure the fortress of Parliament was ready to receive the onslaught of those who wanted to participate, and they've failed. They’ve failed every New Zealander today.”

Tens of thousands of people descended on Parliament on November 19, marking the final stop of the eight-day hīkoi from Te Rerenga Wairua – Cape Reinga to unify Māori and make a stand against the bill.

A high number of submissions could have been anticipated, Ngarewa-Packer said.

The deadline came at a time of year when people should be resting and were not necessarily resourced to mobilise. The Office of the Clerk had not reopened until Wednesday.

“That's probably what's really hurtful, to see the absolute disconnect from the Government and not feeling the pain of those communities and those people who have made every effort to respond.”

On Wednesday, the Green Party sent a letter to the chair, committee members and clerk of the Justice Select Committee, formally requesting the committee to extend the submissions deadline.

ACT party leader David Seymour’s bill was agreed to be brought to select committee under its coalition agreement with National. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon insists his Government will not back the bill beyond its first reading. (File photo)

“Parliament’s website crashed last night preventing many in Aotearoa from having their voices heard,” it said.

The party had received reports in the weeks leading to the deadline, that people had technical difficulties with the submissions portal.

Ultimately, it called for the Committee and Parliament to abandon the bill.

ACT party leader David Seymour’s bill was agreed to be brought to select committee under its coalition agreement with National.

The party had made a submission supporting the bill, which stood for “universal suffrage and equality before the law”, Seymour said.

“Tens of thousands of New Zealanders” made submissions through the party submission tool, he said.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon insisted his Government would not back the bill beyond the first reading in Parliament, despite fears from some the National Party might change its mind and allow a referendum on the Treaty of Waitangi.

“It is both appropriate and necessary for the Committee to abandon this bill completely to avoid any further disharmony and division, and prevent any further spread of dis- and misinformation enabled by this legislation,“ the Green Party said.

Wilson said it would be a committee decision to accept late submissions or make a decision to extend the deadline and it would be meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the bill.

The number of submissions was confidential until they had been presented to the committee.

In response to questions around concerns raised by the public about bots making submissions, Wilson said anyone of any age could make a submission to a select committee and it did not verify their identity or use artificial intelligence.

“Select committee staff manually look at every submission before they are provided to the committee.”