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Planning Bill

Preliminary provisions

9: Crown to seek to enter agreements to uphold Treaty settlement redress or arrangements

You could also call this:

"The government will work with Māori to keep Treaty agreements fair under new laws."

The government wants to make sure that agreements made with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi are still respected when new laws come into effect. You will see the government working with Māori groups to make agreements about how these Treaty settlements will work under the new Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Act 2025. The government will discuss and agree on how to make the Treaty settlements work in the same way as they do now. The government will talk to Māori groups about how to make the Treaty settlements work under the new laws. You will see them making agreements that record how the Treaty settlements will work. These agreements might involve changing the original Treaty settlement documents. This part of the law will be removed two years after the new Planning Bill starts. However, the government can still talk to Māori groups and make agreements after this part of the law is removed. They can also make new laws to make these agreements work. Treaty settlement redress or arrangements refer to agreements made between the government and Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi. These agreements can be found in laws, signed documents, or other arrangements like the Ngā Rohe Moana o Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Porou Act 2019. The government wants to make sure these agreements are still respected under the new laws.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1526156.

This page was last updated on 12 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Māori affairs > Treaty of WaitangiMāori affairs > Māori landEnvironment and resources > Town planningGovernment and voting > Government departments

8: Treaty of Waitangi/Tiriti o Waitangi, or

"How the Treaty of Waitangi/Tiriti o Waitangi is recognised in planning decisions"

10: Treaty redress or arrangements to be given same or equivalent effect, or

"Treaty settlements must be treated the same as they are now under the new law."

Part 1Preliminary provisions

9Crown to seek to enter agreements to uphold Treaty settlement redress or arrangements

To assist in the transition from the Resource Management Act 1991 to this Act and the Natural Environment Act 2025, the Crown will work with any post-settlement governance entity and the ngā hapū o Ngāti Porou governance entity, if they wish to do so, to seek agreement on how their Treaty settlement redress or arrangements will operate with the same or equivalent effect to the greatest extent possible under this Act and the Natural Environment Act 2025.
The Crown will, when working with an entity under subsection (1),—
discuss, for the purpose of reaching agreement with the entity, how the Treaty settlement redress or arrangements could operate under this Act and the Natural Environment Act 2025 in a way that would have the same or equivalent effect to the greatest extent possible; and
following those discussions, and where agreement is reached, enter into the agreement with the entity to record the agreement reached (which may include entering into a deed to amend the relevant Treaty settlement deed.

This section is repealed on and from the 2nd anniversary of the commencement of this Act.
However, the repeal of this section does not, after the date referred to in subsection (3), prevent the Crown from—
continuing discussions or entering an agreement started in accordance with subsection (2); or
entering into an agreement of the nature set out in subsection (2)(b) with an entity; or
progressing any legislation necessary to give effect to any such agreement after the repeal of this section.

For the purposes of this section and section 10,—
Resource Management Act 1991 means that Act as it was immediately before this Act received Royal assent
Treaty settlement redress or arrangements means any of the following as they specifically relate to the Resource Management Act 1991:
1. redress in a Treaty settlement Act; or
2. redress in a signed deed of settlement:
3. the arrangements under the Ngā Rohe Moana o Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Porou Act 2019.