Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

This page is about a bill. That means that it's not the law yet, but some people want it to be the law. It could change quickly, and some of the information is just a draft.

Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill

Introduction

You could also call this:

“Explains what each part of the bill does”

This proposed bill aims to define and explain the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Here’s what the different parts of the bill would do:

The bill would come into effect 6 months after a referendum if most people vote for it. It explains its purpose and defines important words used in it. The bill would apply to the government too.

The bill lists out the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. When other laws mention Treaty principles, they would have to use the ones from this bill. This rule would apply whether the other law directly mentions the principles or just hints at them.

However, the bill wouldn’t change how Treaty settlement laws work, or how historical Treaty claims are settled after this bill starts. It also wouldn’t change the actual words of the Treaty of Waitangi/te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Remember, this is just a proposed law. It’s not in effect yet and would only become law if enough people vote for it in a referendum.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1003432-clause-by-clause-analysis.

Topics:
Māori affairs > Treaty of Waitangi
Government and voting > Elections
Previous

Regulatory impact statement, or

“Report on how changes to Treaty of Waitangi law might affect people”

Next

1: Title, or

“What this law is called and what it's about”

Clause by clause analysis

Clause 1 is the Title clause.

Clause 2 provides for the Bill to come into force 6 months after the date on which the official result of a referendum is announced if a majority of electors voting in that referendum support the Bill coming into force.

1Preliminary provisions

Clause 3 states the purpose of the Bill.

Clause 4 defines terms used in the Bill.

Clause 5 provides that the Bill, when enacted, will bind the Crown.

2Principles of Treaty of Waitangi

Clause 6 sets out the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi for the purposes of the Bill.

Clause 7 provides that the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi set out in the Bill must be used to interpret an enactment if principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are relevant to interpreting that enactment. This is the case whether the reference to principles is express or implied.

Clause 8 provides that the Bill does not apply to the interpretation of a Treaty settlement Act, or the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 in relation to the settlement of a historical Treaty claim entered into after the commencement of the Bill.

Clause 9 provides that the Bill does not amend the text of the Treaty of Waitangi/te Tiriti o Waitangi.