New legislation undermined Māori rights. Legal reforms placed environmental protections at risk. A new report from a Royal Commission of Inquiry, which focused on the period between 1950 and 1999, documented serious abuse and neglect of people in care. Concerns for the well-being of children in care continued.
Indigenous Peoples’ rights
Despite significant opposition, the government adopted or proposed new laws that undermined Māori rights.
In March, legislation was enacted to abolish the Māori Health Authority, a body that was established in 2022 to improve Māori health outcomes and address inequities in healthcare. In July, the Local Government Amendment Act was passed reducing the ability of local councils to establish Māori wards and help ensure equitable representation of Māori in local government.1
In May, the government proposed legislation to repeal a provision (section 7AA) of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, which was aimed at reducing the over-representation of Māori children in state care.
In November, the government introduced the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill which would reduce the rights of Māori. The Waitangi Tribunal, the body that hears claims brought by Māori regarding te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Treaty of Waitangi stated that if the bill was enacted that it would be the “worst, most comprehensive breach of the Treaty/te Tiriti in modern times”. Despite their being a Treaty partner, the government did not meaningfully engage with Māori before introducing the bill. Its introduction sparked mass protests with tens of thousands of people participating in a nine-day nationwide hīkoi (march) to parliament.
Māori remained over-represented in the criminal justice system. A report, published in August by an independent panel appointed by the Police Commissioner, recognized that there was evidence of structural racism across many different sectors including the justice system. It found that being Māori increased the likelihood of prosecution by 11% compared to New Zealand Europeans.
Right to a healthy environment
New Zealand fell seven places, to 41, in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI). CCPI experts called on the government to set more ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets.
New legislation was introduced that undermined environmental protections. The Fast-track Approvals Bill, adopted in December, established an accelerated process for approving mining, housing, development and other projects that could bypass existing environmental protections.2 The Crown Minerals Amendment Bill, which was introduced in August, sought to reverse a 2018 ban on new offshore petroleum exploration permits.
Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Abuse in Care, published in June, reported estimates indicating that up to 256,000 children, young people and adults in state care or in faith-based institutions between 1950-2019 suffered abuse and neglect. However, the report noted that the true number will never be known.
A report by the National Preventive Mechanism responsible for monitoring places of detention under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture found ongoing serious concerns about the safety and well-being of children in the state care system.
