Guidelines for Individual Submissions
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Submissions can only be made via the portal on the Parliament website or via post. You can either upload your own document, or fill in an on-line submission form.
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Making an individual submission is important. As we saw with the Hīkoi, numbers matter. Submissions that seem to be from a generic template may be lumped together and counted as one, so it is great to add your own thoughts and words.
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Written submissions can be made in English and te reo Māori. Submissions made in te reo Māori will be translated into English.
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You have until 11.59pm on Tuesday 7th January, 2025 to make your submission.
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You will also be asked ‘Do you wish to make an oral submission to the committee' and we encourage you to do so.
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Don't put personal details in your submission as submission are made public. Your details are entered separately.
How to make a submission
You can either upload a submission in a document, or you can fill in the online form on the website which is very easy and doesn’t need to be long and involved.
When you're ready to make your submission go to this page and select one of the options. This is what it will look like:
OPTION 1:
OPTION 2:
Tips for Writing
Tips for writing
1. Make a short introduction (optional): why are you submitting, what does your organisation do (don’t’ include any personal details here as you do that separately when you lodge your submission in the portal)
2. State your position: what you think about the proposed Treaty Principles Bill. Make it clear you oppose the Bill as totals 'for' and 'against' are counted.
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I oppose the Bill
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I ask that the Bill be thrown out and not proceed any further
3. Outline why: these reasons don't have to be long and involved and can be in bullet points. Make these relevant to the proposed Bill and it's also good if you have any facts or figures to include. Below are some examples of topics you can add your own experiences and perspectives to:
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There is no need for the Bill as equality in New Zealand is already guaranteed under the Bill of Rights Act 1990 and the Human Rights Act 1993. I think that passing this Bill...
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This is not a good process for debating the Treaty as the proposed Treaty Principles Bill is based on one small political party's ideology, not a genuine democratic process undertaken in good faith with both signatories involved.
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There are so many other challenges the country is facing, like education, health and...
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It is wrong to try and change the interpretation of a Treaty without both parties who signed it being involved.
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This Bill will cause huge social division and I'm worried that...
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The Waitangi Tribunal report on the Bill found that it 'lacked a policy imperative justifying its development, was based on flawed policy rationales, was 'novel' in its Treaty interpretations, was fashioned on a disingenuous historical narrative and distorted the text of te Tiriti o Waitangi'
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A Waitangi Tribunal report says that 'if this Bill were to be enacted, it would be the worst, most comprehensive breach of the Treaty...in modern times."
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I'm opposed to the Bill because of the economic cost of the Bill to the country through social harm and disharmony.
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I want...for the future of my children/grandchildren and...
For analysis of the Treaty Principles Bill you can read the Waitangi Tribunal report here
4. State your recommendations clearly: say what you think the committee should do.
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I recommend that the Select Committee throw out the bill…
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I recommend that the Treaty Principles Bill be abandoned and no more time is spent on it..
Read the Proposed Bill - click here
Joint Submissions
We'd like to encourage you to make your own individual submission following the guidelines above.
Please also add your name to our joint submission from Kiwis for the Treaty via the form below, you can do both.