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Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975

8: Jurisdiction of Tribunal to consider proposed legislation

You could also call this:

"The Tribunal checks new laws to see if they are fair to Maori people according to the Treaty of Waitangi."

The Tribunal looks at proposed laws sent to it and decides if they go against the Treaty of Waitangi principles. You can think of the Treaty of Waitangi as a very important agreement between the government and the Maori people. The Tribunal gives its report to the Speaker of the House if it is about a Bill, or to the person who sent the proposed regulations if it is not a Bill. The Tribunal sends a copy of its report to the Minister of Maori Affairs and to the House of Representatives as soon as possible. When the Tribunal makes a report, it is like writing a letter to say what it thinks about the proposed law, and this report is shared with important people in the government, including the Minister of Maori Affairs and the House of Representatives, which is a group of people who make laws for New Zealand.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM435542.

Topics:
Māori affairs > Treaty of WaitangiGovernment and voting > Government departments
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"The Tribunal can say no to looking into a claim if it's not important or if you have another way to solve the problem."

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8A: Recommendations in respect of land transferred to or vested in State enterprise, or

"What happens to Maori land given to a State enterprise and how it can be returned"

8Jurisdiction of Tribunal to consider proposed legislation

  1. The Tribunal shall examine any proposed legislation referred to it under subsection (2) and shall report whether, in its opinion, the provisions of the proposed legislation or any of them are contrary to the principles of the Treaty.

  2. Proposed legislation may be referred to the Tribunal—

  3. in the case of a Bill before the House of Representatives, by resolution of the House:
    1. in the case of any proposed regulations or Order in Council, by any Minister of the Crown.

      1. The Tribunal's report shall be given—

      2. in the case of a Bill, to the Speaker of the House:
        1. in every other case, to the person or body who referred the proposed regulations or Order in Council to the Tribunal.

          1. A copy of every report made by the Tribunal under this section shall be given by the Tribunal to the Minister of Maori Affairs and shall be laid before the House of Representatives as soon as practicable.

          Notes
          • Section 8(4): amended, on , by section 27 of the Constitution Act 1986 (1986 No 114).