Statement on Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi

At the 2012 BPW New Zealand Annual General Meeting/Conference, the membership voted to bring into policy the following:

“THAT BPW NZ recognises that Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s founding document.”

The Treaty Principles Bill in Parliament in 2024 does not align with this policy. We are concerned the principles proposed in the bill, are not consistent with the key principles of the Treaty of partnership, participation and protection.

The concept behind the bill, ‘everyone is equal before the law’, does not respect that while we may all be equal in our humanity, it is evidenced that we do not all have equal opportunities and outcomes. Our legislation frames our policymaking and must reflect that Māori women experience worse outcomes in many aspects of our lives as women. This was affirmed by the findings of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in October 2024.

Our concerns are supported by the Sustainable Development Goals, which includes six direct references to Indigenous Peoples, particularly around land rights, income and education. Further, we note New Zealand’s ratification of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2010. Finally, we are guided General Recommendation No. 39 (2022) on the Rights of Indigenous Women and Girls, adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which focuses on the rights of Indigenous women and girls.