Continue to pursue the Treaty Principles Bill

This sought to redefine foundations underpinning the Treaty of Waitangi by legislating three core principles: the government has the right to govern; everyone is equal before the law; and  the rights of hapū and iwi Māori are different to everyone else only in cases where those rights have been set out in treaty settlements.

After prolonged and heated debate, it was voted down in April last year, but party leader David Seymour said in a speech delivered in February that he still supported the Treaty Principles Bill. “We may have lost the vote, but we won the debate. Kiwis agree with the principles because New Zealanders actually are equal. Like many bills before it, the first vote won’t be the final say,” he said