Committee calls for submissions on Treaty Principles Bill, swearing banned

Parliament’s justice committee this morning called for public submissions on the Treaty Principles bill warning that submissions containing offensive language would not be accepted.

In the call for submissions, the committee acknowledged the Treaty Principles bill was controversial and said it intended to “facilitate a measured debate”.

It said the committee would make decisions about how to develop “criteria for submissions that will not be accepted” because they contained “offensive language”.

Submissions will be received until January 7 next year.

Hīkoi mō ti Tiriti marches through Wellington to reach Parliament to protest the Treaty Principles Bill. Photo / Chris Murray

Committee chair, National MP James Meager said the process of receiving and hearing submissions before reporting back to Parliament will take six months, as previously stated.

“We haven’t made any other decisions on process apart from the call for submissions but at the moment we are treating it as a standard process,” Meager said.

There had been some speculation the opposition MPs on the committee would try to pick off support from the Government MPs in order to shorten the select committee period.

Meager poured cold water on this - for now.

“The committee can make any decision they want but at the moment our intention is to run a standard bill process,” he said.

The call to open submissions came as a hīkoi opposing the bill worked its way to Parliament through Wellington.

Action Station, a group that organises for progressive causes, said it would hand over a petition to stop the bill as the hīkoi arrives at Parliament at noon.

The petition contained 203,653 signatures, according to the group.

Police say there are more than 15,000 people at the main gathering place for the hīkoi at Waitangi Park and an additional 2000 people were at Parliament.

Act leader David Seymour urged his supporters to submit on the bill.

“Since 1975 when the Waitangi Tribunal decided the Treaty has ‘principles’, the job of interpreting those principles has been left to unelected judges. That changes today,” Seymour said.

“For the first time, Kiwis of all backgrounds are now able to tell Parliament what they think the Treaty means for future generations of New Zealanders.”

Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.