The Treaty Principles Bill is not dead - it will be law one day

Thursday, 5 February 2026

David Seymour speaks in support of the Treaty Principles Bill before Parliament voted it down last year. The ACT leader and bill sponsor says the bill will one day be law.

David Seymour is leader of the ACT Party and the Deputy Prime Minister.

OPINION: What to make of the Treaty Principles Bill? Where does it go next? The bill’s opponents will be quick to point out that we lost the vote. That’s true, but ask them if we lost the argument.

That tends to get a different response, for good reason. The principles themselves, according to polling at the time, have widespread support. Here’s what those principles in the Treaty Principles Bill are, and how New Zealanders responded when they had them read out and asked if they supported them.

One: The Executive Government of New Zealand has full power to govern, and the Parliament of New Zealand has full power to make laws in the best interests of everyone; and in accordance with the rule of law and the maintenance of a free and democratic society. Support: 45% Oppose: 24%

Two: The Crown recognises, and will respect and protect, the rights that hapū and iwi Māori had under the Treaty of Waitangi/te Tiriti o Waitangi at the time they signed it. However, if those rights differ from the rights of everyone, this applies only if those rights are agreed in the settlement of a historical treaty claim under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. Support: 42% Oppose: 25%

Read More:

David Seymour says Treaty principles movement will succeed eventually

David Seymour, flanked by ACT MPs, waves as the pro-Treaty hīkoi arrives at Parliament in late 2024.

Three: Everyone is equal before the law. Everyone is entitled, without discrimination, to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law; and the equal enjoyment of the same fundamental human rights. Support: 62% Oppose: 14%

Every other party voted against the bill, but none explained why they oppose these principles. Without opposing the principles, they’re left with process. The opposition seemed to boil down to, “the courts have decided what the principles should be, and Parliament has no right to interfere, especially if it was the ACT Party’s idea”.

You can’t kill an idea with process, and I believe the ideas in the bill will one day be law. World history shows the courts’ version of the Treaty - a “partnership between races”, forever dividing us by our ancestry - isn’t sustainable. No matter how strained the world may seem right now, liberal democracy is still the best bet.

The hīkoi in support of the Treaty works its way through central Wellington on its way to Parliament in November 2024.

Nor would it be the first time an unpopular law took a few times to pass, before it became the way things always were. Euthanasia and homosexual law reform are two modern New Zealand examples; in both cases the law that passed was the third attempt introduced to Parliament.

In the meantime, the fall of the first Treaty Principles Bill hasn’t dulled its principles. It’s not just public opinion, but also our Government that’s living by the principles. We are removing the power of elites while opening up opportunity regardless of race.

It’s often Māori who start with the poorest statistics, who benefit the most from this approach.

Just as the Māori Health Authority and co-governed Three Waters have gone away, school boards no longer have a duty to uphold the Treaty. The new resource management laws will not have a Treaty clause, and will manage Treaty obligations through iwi participation in planning -not consenting.

Public services are delivered on the basis of need, not race, thanks to an ACT-inspired Cabinet circular. Take the example of bowel cancer. It doesn’t discriminate by race, and now the screening doesn’t either. Unlike when we came to Government, it is funded at the same age (58) for all people.

Meanwhile Māori groups are opening new charter schools, alongside many other New Zealanders who want to see education done differently - their way. Vaccination rates are up. Deregulation of building consents, including for granny flats, means it’s easier to get warm, dry housing.

Crime has fallen and Oranga Tamariki is run better. Because Māori are more likely than average to be a victim of crime or cared for by Oranga Tamariki, these are, for better or worse, a pro-Māori win.

None of these policies come from dividing us up, race by race. They don’t say some people have a special role here because their ancestors got here first. They do say that we are each entitled to one five millionth of the opportunity this country has to offer, and some of us haven’t been getting it. They are all pro-human, and therefore pro-Māori.

The Treaty Principles Bill is not dead, its principles are alive and flourishing, whether people see it or not. One day the bill itself will rise again and be the law of the land, because equal rights are the only kind that make any sense.