A critical review of the Cabinet Circular on Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Treaty of Waitangi advice to ministers

Abstract

The New Zealand state developed from a treaty between the British Crown and hapū (sub-tribes) in 1840. The te Reo (Māori language) text and the English version of the agreement are fundamentally different. Breaches of this treaty and tension over how the political relationship between Māori and the Crown should proceed are ongoing. In 2019, the Cabinet Office issued a Circular instructing bureaucratic advisers of the questions they should address when providing advice to ministers on the agreement’s contemporary application. In this article, we use Critical Tiriti Analysis (CTA) – an analytical framework applied to public policies – to suggest additional and alternative questions to inform bureaucratic advice. The article defines CTA in detail and shows how using it in this way could protect Māori rights to tino rangatiratanga (a sovereignty and authority that is not subservient to others) and substantive engagement, as citizens, in the formation of public policy. This article’s central argument is that the Circular reflects an important evolution in government policy thought. However, in showing how the Circular privileges the English version (the Treaty of Waitangi) over the Māori text (Te Tiriti o Waitangi), the article demonstrates how Māori political authority remains subservient to the Crown in ways that Te Tiriti did not intend. We show through the conceptual illustration of the care and protection of Māori children, despite the significant evolution in government thought that it represents, these rights are not fully protected by the Circular. This is significant because it was Te Tiriti, with its protection of extant Māori authority and sovereignty, that was signed by all but 39 of the more than 500 chiefs who agreed to the British Crown establishing government over their own people, but who did not agree to the colonial relationship which may be read into the English version.

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“…The elimination of racism and the achievement of te Tiriti compliance through a Critical Tiriti Analysis framework is well documented in the work of O'Sullivan, Came, McCreanor et al 41 . and Came and colleagues 28,40–45 . The work of Todic et al 30 .…”

“…3 Tiriti framework relies on having statutory legislation from the Government to aid the prioritisation of equity emphasis placed on building locally determined partnerships and governance systems with Māori so that organisations are able to acquire the necessary organisational cultural intelligence to create positive cultural transformational shifts, thereby ensuring greater levels of commitment and accountability to implementing Tiriti responsibilities. The elimination of racism and the achievement of te Tiriti compliance through a Critical Tiriti Analysis framework is well documented in the work of O'Sullivan, Came, McCreanor et al 41 and Came and colleagues. 28,[40][41][42][43][44][45] The work of Todic et al 30 describes five interconnected change strategies that can be used to build a culture of equity in healthcare organisations.…”

“…The elimination of racism and the achievement of te Tiriti compliance through a Critical Tiriti Analysis framework is well documented in the work of O'Sullivan, Came, McCreanor et al 41 and Came and colleagues. 28,[40][41][42][43][44][45] The work of Todic et al 30 describes five interconnected change strategies that can be used to build a culture of equity in healthcare organisations. These components include 1.…”

Toitū Te Tiriti

“…This document delineates the rights afforded to iwi and enumerates the corresponding responsibilities of the Crown. [3][4][5] Published literature well documents compelling evidence that, despite the promises enshrined in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, equity in Aotearoa New Zealand is yet to be attained. [6][7][8] Academics have methodically documented the underlying exposures associated with increased health and social risks that contribute to this persistent inequity for Māori-most notably systemic racism that restricts equitable and fair access to quality education, employment, housing, nutritious food and healthcare access.…”

Māori realities, intimacies, and sexual expressions: reconceptualising consent to uphold kaumātua mana in aged residential care

“…Our context is further informed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi), signed between many Māori iwi (tribes) and the British colonial authority in 1840, which set out the responsibilities and rights of both Māori and British settlers, and which forms part of the constitutional arrangements of Aotearoa (Orange, 2015). We acknowledge that understanding the implications of Te Tiriti o Waitangi has been the subject of much controversy and debate (Hayward & Wheen, 2016;O'Sullivan et al, 2021;Theunissen, 2011) which lie beyond the scope of this article.…”