The law should be predictable

The Herald reports:

The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty matters.

When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there were at least 50 known Treaty clauses in legislation with about 14 variations in their description of the Crown’s obligations as a Treaty partner.

Chaos.

But what will be left of any new Treaty clauses to monitor is an open question because of a radical direction the coalition Government is taking already, ahead of the review.

It is no longer putting general Treaty clauses in legislation.

That became evident last week when the Fast-Track Approvals Bill was unveiled, which sets out a process for ministers to approve significant infrastructure projects. It did not have a general clause.

But leaving out a general Treaty clause is not a one-off, says New Zealand First’s Regional Development Minister Shane Jones, who helped Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop to produce the bill. There will be no more general Treaty clauses in any new legislation, Jones said.

“If you look at the sentiment in the coalition agreement, it should come as no surprise to anyone that there is not and will not be any more generic open-ended Treaty clauses.”

Excellent. These clauses mean that no one knows what the law actually means, as they are so vague.

If we think there should be legislative respect for the Treaty of Waitangi, or its principles, then they should be clearly defined by the legislature.