Wind up the Waitangi Tribunal by 2040

The ACT Party says it will disestablish the Waitangi Tribunal once its work determining historical claims is complete.

The party says it would end the tribunal’s “activist” work on contemporary Crown policy and limit it to ruling on historical claims lodged before 1 September 2008.

Once that work is complete, and by 2040 at the latest, it would wind up the tribunal.

“The Waitangi Tribunal has been part of New Zealand’s constitutional landscape for more than 50 years. It has made an important contribution, particularly in helping address historical grievances. But no institution should exist just because it always has,” party leader David Seymour said.

“ACT supports completing full and final historical Treaty settlements as a pragmatic way to resolve past injustices. This includes where the Crown confiscated land or otherwise breached property rights. That work should be finished properly.”