Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975

Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975
New Zealand Parliament
  • An Act to provide for the observance, and confirmation, of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi by establishing a Tribunal to make recommendations on claims relating to the practical application of the Treaty and to determine whether certain matters are inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty.
Royal assent10 October 1975
CommencedImmediate
Legislative history
Introduced byMatiu Rata
Passed1975
Amended by
1985, 1988 (twice), 1993, 2006
Related legislation
State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986
Status: Current legislation

The Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 gave the Treaty of Waitangi recognition in New Zealand law for the first time and established the Waitangi Tribunal. The tribunal was empowered to investigate possible breaches of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi by the New Zealand Government or any state-controlled body, occurring after 1975.[1] It was also empowered to recommend, but not enforce, remedies.

The treaty had been a focus of Māori activism for several years, but many Māori were disappointed in the efficacy of the Waitangi Tribunal. Most of the significant breaches of the treaty, such as land confiscation in the New Zealand Wars, had occurred in the nineteenth century, and the tribunal was initially in 1975 powerless to investigate these.[2] The act was amended in 1985 to enable it to consider claims dating back to 1840.

  1. ^ Myers, Samuel L.; Corrie, Bruce P.; a, World Conference on Remedies to Racial (2006). Racial and Ethnic Economic Inequality: An International Perspective. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-0-8204-5656-0.
  2. ^ Orange, Claudia (21 December 2015). An Illustrated History of the Treaty of Waitangi. Bridget Williams Books. p. 239. ISBN 978-1-927131-04-6.