The Treaty of Waitangi, te Tiriti o Waitangi is our founding document: whether we have a British Crown, a New Zealand Crown or an independent Head of State - that won’t change, nor does the position of the Treaty
Māori views on the monarchy differ, just like everyone else
A Treaty clause in legislation establishing an independent Head of State will protect the Treaty, and ensure the new head of state inherits the responsibilities and obligations held by the monarch currently of the Treaty partnership

Our Treaty, our founding document

The Treaty of Waitangi, te Tiriti o Waitangi, is the founding document of New Zealand. Becoming a republic does not change this. Nonetheless, New Zealand Republic has a clear policy that any move to a republic must include legislative protection for the Treaty and the current Māori-Government relationship. Becoming a republic is an opportunity to improve the relationship between Māori and Pakeha and will help clarify the Treaty issue.

This page is by no means a full history of the Treaty or what came before it, but it does give a bit of background to the agreement and how it is interwoven with the republic debate. If you’re interested in this topic, then we recommend the Te Ara website on the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Crown

The Treaty of Waitangi, te Tiriti o Waitangi (we use “the Treaty” to refer to both versions of te Tiriti on this page), was signed in 1840 between representatives of the British Crown and Māori chiefs, all across Aotearoa.

In the context of the Treaty, the Crown simply refers to the government, usually the executive (prime minister and ministers), and not to the Sovereign (the King or Queen) specifically. The Cabinet Manual puts it this way:

The expression “the Crown” is used frequently in descriptions of New Zealand's current constitutional arrangements. The meaning of “the Crown” varies according to the context in which it is used. Generally, it describes executive government conducted by Ministers and their public service agencies

Because the Treaty was signed by representatives of the British Crown, it is incorrectly claimed, usually by supporters of the monarchy, that without the Crown somehow the Treaty becomes invalid. Others make ignorant claims, such as the Treaty is not binding on the New Zealand Government because it was signed by representatives of the British Crown.

This is not the case. The New Zealand Government, was established as the colonial government following the Treaty’s signing while New Zealand was a “Crown colony” (that is, directly governed by Britain) and became separate and independent during the 20th century by a number of legal actions. More details on this process are below.

In doing so, the New Zealand Government inherited the responsibilities of the British Crown, which is now a legally separate entity to the New Zealand Crown. The issue of whether the Treaty was binding on the Crown is the subject of much debate, including the exact interpretation of the Treaty.

The legal position

“In strict legal terms, if New Zealand became a republic tomorrow it would make no difference to the Treaty of Waitangi. Speaking as a lawyer, it’s a long-established principle that successive governments take on responsibility for previous agreements.”

— Professor Noel Cox, legal academic and former Monarchy NZ chairman

If New Zealand becomes a republic, responsibility for the Treaty would remain with the government of New Zealand. This is because, regardless of whether there is a Crown or not, it is a principle that legally this is simply the process of renaming the New Zealand Crown as “the Government and people of New Zealand” (which is what the Crown in this context is).

New Zealand Republic’s policy is that we will make this clear in statute law with a Treaty clause. While this isn’t a legal requirement, it is not legally complicated - for example, Keith Locke’s Head of State (Referenda) Bill had a simple clause that would protect the Treaty of Waitangi. More on this below.

The Treaty itself is part of New Zealand law because of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and various other enactments. The Treaty of Waitangi Act came about because of a ruling by the Privy Council, then our highest court, in 1941. The court held that in order for the Treaty to have validity in New Zealand law, it would have to be adopted as a statute. Since that case, many campaigned for an Act of Parliament to do so, but it wasn’t until the third Labour Government passed the Treaty of Waitangi Act in 1975 that this occurred. The Treaty is a schedule to the Act.

In 1947 New Zealand adopted the Statute of Westminster. The Statute was a piece of legislation passed by Britain in 1931 giving its then self-governing colonies the ability to become independent. It did not automatically apply to New Zealand, as we sought to exclude ourselves out of loyalty to Britain. New Zealand finally passed its own legislation adopting the Statute in 1947. The British monarch as our head of state eventually legally became the monarch of New Zealand, which is independent of their role as the British Monarch, and the “New Zealand Crown” was legally divided from the British Crown in the following decades.

“Precedent is established that the effective party to the Treaty is actually kawanatanga or government. So whether that government takes the form of a constitutional monarchy or a republic is irrelevant. They are still bound by the terms of the agreement signed in 1840.”

— Moana Jackson, Māori legal academic

Sovereignty that was originally vested in Queen Victoria by the English version of the Treaty passed from the British Crown to the New Zealand Crown. The British Crown in New Zealand became ‘the Crown in right of New Zealand’. Legally, becoming a republic would mean transferring the Treaty’s responsibilities again, as was done in 1947, to the new head of state. The Privy Council confirmed this in a 1993 ruling:

The obligations of Her Majesty, the Queen of England, under the Treaty are now those of the Crown in right of New Zealand.

This would leave responsibility for the Treaty where it has always laid: with the New Zealand Parliament and its executive Government. Successive Governments have both ignored the Treaty and, more recently, set about making amends. It has been the New Zealand Government that has made apologies and paid reparations to Iwi, not the British Parliament or Government.

There were numerous Māori delegations (including one led by King Tāwhiao) to London in the years following the Treaty of Waitangi. They were all dismissed and sent back to the colonial government in New Zealand, which ignored them. This has led some, such as Māori lawyer and academic Moana Jackson (see quote above), to argue that the real party to the Treaty is not “the Crown” but “Kawanatanga” or Government as defined by the Treaty: that is the executive of the New Zealand Government, formerly the Colonial Government.

““[T]he belief that the Queen provided [Māori] special protection was more imagined than real””

— Shane Jones MP

Māori views on the Crown and a New Zealand head of state

According to a number of polls on the issue over the years, a majority of Māori support a republic. Like all New Zealanders, Māori opinion on a republic is divided. Māori voters are more likely to support becoming a republic than Pakeha voters, regardless of the party they vote for.

Māori views on the Crown and monarchy are similarly diverse. Recently Māori commentator Morgan Godfery put it like this:

New Zealand, a country founded on a sacred pact between Māori and the Crown, is different. Or so we’re told. In truth, the Treaty relationship between Māori and the Crown was never a relationship between hapū and the monarch. It’s a relationship between you and I as tangata whenua and tangata tiriti.
The question I keep returning to is whether our institutions not only serve us but look like us. If we accept the idea that the special relationship in this country is between tangata whenua and tangata tiriti, not between colony and Crown, then what is the monarchy but a dust-covered photograph of Queen Victoria on the back wall of a small-town Marae?

Māori and the Royals: “special relationship”?

““Several Māori deputations to Buckingham Palace over the years to remedy the injustices done to Māori ... were sincere but sad attempts to appeal to the honour of the Crown; such deputations were immediately forwarded on to Government House in Wellington and thereto to the government of the day.””

— Professor Philip Joseph

Supporters of the monarchy often claim that as a result of the Treaty, Māori have a special relationship with the British Royals. Often this special relationship is claimed to provide Māori with protection against the New Zealand Government. History shows us that this simply isn’t the case. As many Māori have acknowledged, there is no special relationship.

A Treaty clause: protecting our Treaty in law

New Zealand Republic campaigns for a New Zealand head of state. Part of that is ensuring that the legislation (or a written Constitution, if that’s the process we follow to become a republic) has a specific clause protecting Te Tiriti o Waitangi - The Treaty of Waitangi. The Constitution proposed by Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Dr Andrew Butler has the following clause:

On Commencement of this Constitution, all rights, duties and obligations of the Crown in right of New Zealand under the Treaty and under Treaty settlement agreements and related statutes vest in and are assumed by the State.

Keith Locke’s Head of State (Referenda) Bill had a similar clause as well. This would ensure that the transfer from the New Zealand Crown to a New Zealand head of state is clear.

A head of state as guardian: Ngā Kaitiaki?

While there isn’t specific agreement on the title of a New Zealand head of state, we suggest one name that could be used is Kaitiaki or Guardian (this wouldn’t be unusual internationally - both the President of Ireland and Head of State of Samoa have titles in their respective languages). This is because the head of state would be a non-executive office with limited reserve powers to be guardian of our democracy, founding document, and the democratic process.

The Treaty of Waitangi, te Tiriti o Waitangi is our founding document: whether we have a British Crown, a New Zealand Crown or an independent Head of State - that won’t change, nor does the position of the Treaty

Māori views on the monarchy differ, just like everyone else

A Treaty clause in legislation establishing an independent Head of State will protect the Treaty, and ensure the new head of state inherits the responsibilities and obligations held by the monarch currently of the Treaty partnership