Neil Sands
Richard Prebble says he quit the Waitangi Tribunal because it is creating grievances rather than resolving them and is meddling in constitutional matters that are beyond its mandate.
Prebble, who was appointed to the tribunal just five months ago, said a “failure of political leadership” had allowed the body to expand its remit, calling for urgent action from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to refocus it.
The former Labour minister and ACT Party leader said he decided to leave after the tribunal circulated a strategic plan to members in February which predicted a steep rise in the claims it would be handling.
“When I looked at it, I saw that the tribunal, far from solving grievances, is predicting there will be a whole host of new claims,” he told The Platform.
“It’s going to need extra funding, probably more members… they’re creating it [grievances]. The purpose of the tribunal was actually to resolve grievances and bring us all together. Now the treaty tribunal itself has become a major cause of grievances.”
Prebble’s appointment in October attracted criticism from sone quarters, with Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer accusing the government of stacking the tribunal with “pale, stale males”.
Prebble said he did not want to sit on an expanded tribunal which functioned as an “echo chamber” where his views would be ignored.
“I’m now 77 and I’d be spending my years at the tribunal in a minority, arguing that this is nuts… I’d have been wasting my time.”
He said the tribunal was conducting a review of New Zealand’s constitution and its activities would expand even further under the vision outlined in the strategic plan.
“This is not an appropriate role for a tribunal headed by Māori Land Court judges,” he said.
Prebble said Luxon should implement the section of the National-NZ First coalition agreement that says the Waitangi Tribunal’s legislation will be amended “to refocus the scope, purpose, and nature of its inquiries back to the original intent of that legislation”.
“I think that Christopher Luxon feels very uncomfortable on these issues and rather hopes that if he ignores them, they’ll go away,” he said.
“What’s actually happened is that because he and other prime ministers have ignored it, the civil service has taken it on itself to adopt the tribunal’s principles, even though the government hasn’t. That’s a failure of political leadership and I think Mr Luxon needs to have a serious think about it.”
Luxon told reporters on Wednesday that the Waitangi Tribunal’s mandate was on his agenda, although did not provide further details.
“What’s obvious is that we need to think about the mandate of the Waitangi Tribunal, as I’ve said for some time, in a post-treaty-settlement world, and that’s from commentators on all sides of the debate,” he said.
Waitangi Tribunal chair Dr Caren Fox said the strategic plan Prebble referred to was a draft which she could not comment on.
Fox added: “As chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal, I expect all members to undertake their own due diligence, to read reports and understand the vision, mission and purpose of the Waitangi Tribunal before accepting appointment.”
Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka said Prebble resigned of his own accord.
“I respect his choice and wish him well,” he said.
“My focus is on moving swiftly to complete the appointment of a new member to minimise any disruption to the tribunal.”
Asked about his future plans, Prebble told The Platform host Sean Plunket: “I’m going to try to enjoy my retirement.”
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