ACT’s attack on Te Tiriti must stop

ACT's attack on Te Tiriti must stop

• September 10, 2026September 10, 2026

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi condemns ACT's ongoing attacks on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, following the Party's latest election announcement to wind up the Waitangi Tribunal.

"Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Waitangi Tribunal are active parts of our constitutional landscape and must not be swept aside by politicians", says New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi President Sandra Grey.

"Ongoing work by the Waitangi Tribunal deepens our connections with one another and ensures the collective tino rangatiratanga of mana whenua set out in Te Tiriti is actively recognised."

"David Seymour's desire to wind up the Tribunal and stop what he describes as 'activism' is simply the ACT Party seeking to avoid accountability for their ongoing attacks on Te Tiriti", says Grey.

NZCTU Vice President Māori Aubrey Wilkinson is outraged by ACT's latest plan to undermine Te Tiriti and Māori.

"The Tribunal doesn't just deal with historical grievances in Aotearoa. Māori workers are still paid less than others, Māori unemployment is higher than Pākehā workers, and more Māori rangatahi live in poverty than Pākehā children."

"Until we have shifted our society to deal with these ongoing inequities, there is a place for the Waitangi Tribunal for challenging breaches of Te Tiriti," says Wilkinson.

Working people are calling for political leaders to help build a secure and inclusive Aotearoa. This latest announcement from ACT signals their intention to do the opposite.

"New Zealanders clearly told Seymour that we didn't want his Treaty Principles Bill. Today's announcement signals he wants to have another crack at dividing Aotearoa," says Grey.

"The Waitangi Tribunal plays a vital constitutional role and must be enabled to continue this important work for the good of all New Zealanders", says Grey.