Please share the following segment from the Tribunal :
"In deciding to reinstate the poll provisions and require select wards to be dissolved or subject to a binding poll, the Crown has prioritised commitments made in the coalition agreement over its obligations to Māori under the Treaty.
There has been no discussion or consultation with Treaty partners as to the proposed changes, and Treaty obligations have been treated as if they are optional.
The Government does not have a unilateral right to set aside Treaty obligations. In addition, the failure to consult Māori is a clear breach of the Treaty principle of partnership.
We consider that the decision-making process is particularly egregious when it concerns measures that were introduced to remove previous discriminatory barriers to Māori political representation and to uphold the Treaty partnership.
Moreover, policy documents reveal the Government has failed to make a reasonable and informed decision, in breach of the duty to act in goof faith. The policy process has been rushed to fit Ministerial timeframes with inadequate consideration of Māori views in official advice.
Any discussion of Treaty obligations and analysis of Treaty issues raised by the proposal is almost entirely absent from the Cabinet paper on which the decision to reinstate poll provisions and overturn the decisions of elected local councils was made.
Māori around the country have clearly expressed their preference to be involved in decision-making at the local level as an expressions of their tino rangatiratanga.
We were provided with evidence from current and former councillors and mayors, as well as former Members of Parliament, of the extensive advocacy and campaigning efforts prior to 2021 for the establishment of Māori wards and constituencies.
The Government's decision to prioritise its political agenda over the clearly expressed desires and actions of Māori for dedicated political representation at the local level breaches the Crown duty to actively protect the rights and interests of Maori."
- Waitangi Tribunal.
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