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For the 2026 New Zealand general election: How do parties differ on Te Tiriti, Māori-Crown relations and racial discrimination?
For the 2026 New Zealand general election, the biggest divide between parties is whether Te Tiriti o Waitangi should be an active constitutional foundation that gives Māori distinct rights and decision-making authority, or whether government should prioritise equal treatment of individuals regardless of ethnicity.
This is more than a disagreement about Treaty wording. It affects Māori representation, public services, health, education, land and resource ownership, government decision-making and how New Zealand addresses racial inequality.
Below is a comparison of the major parties' positions, based on their 2026 policies and public statements, as at 1 November 2026.
1. Comparing the parties
Broad political positioning — not a formal party ranking.
| Party | General approach to Te Tiriti |
|---|---|
| Te Pāti Māori | Transformative Māori sovereignty and constitutional change |
| Greens | Strongly supportive Partnership and rangatiratanga |
| Labour | Supportive Partnership within existing constitutional arrangements |
| The Opportunities Party (TOP) | Supportive Stronger Treaty recognition and Māori autonomy |
| National | Moderate / limited Treaty recognition, Crown sovereignty and equal citizenship |
| New Zealand First | Restrictive Opposes expanded Treaty interpretations and co-governance |
| ACT | Strongly restrictive Equal treatment regardless of ethnicity; limits Treaty principles |
The distinctions are particularly important between National, ACT and New Zealand First. They are coalition partners, but they do not have identical Treaty policies.
2. Individual party positions
Te Pāti Māori
Strongest constitutional transformation
Te Pāti Māori views Te Tiriti as an agreement that establishes an ongoing relationship between tangata whenua and the Crown.
Its central argument is that Māori should have meaningful authority over their own affairs, rather than simply being consulted by the government.
Key policies include:
- Entrenching Te Tiriti in New Zealand's constitutional arrangements.
- Establishing an independent Te Tiriti Commission.
- Making Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding.
- Requiring Te Tiriti impact statements for legislation.
- Strengthening Māori political authority and tino rangatiratanga.
- Returning land and resources where appropriate.
- Expanding Māori-led health, education and justice services.
Racial discrimination: Te Pāti Māori emphasises structural and institutional racism, arguing that Māori experience unequal outcomes because of historical dispossession and ongoing institutional practices.
It supports targeted Māori programmes and Māori decision-making as ways of addressing those inequalities.
Its position is that treating everyone identically does not necessarily produce equality when people start from unequal circumstances.
Source: Te Pāti Māori – 2026 policies. PolicyWhere political parties stand on Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Green Party
Strong Treaty partnership
The Greens support a fundamental role for Te Tiriti in New Zealand's constitutional future.
They believe iwi and hapū should exercise rangatiratanga and participate in government as genuine partners, rather than merely advisers.
Key policies include:
- Giving the Māori-language text of Te Tiriti legal authority.
- Embedding Treaty-based decision-making throughout government.
- Strengthening the Waitangi Tribunal and giving it binding powers to recommend land returns.
- Reforming Treaty settlements to better recognise hapū authority.
- Removing the concept of settlements being permanently full and final.
- Supporting Māori-led economic development and resource management.
Racial discrimination: The Greens recognise systemic racism as a significant contributor to unequal outcomes.
They favour:
- Targeted policies to address Māori disadvantage.
- Culturally appropriate public services.
- Stronger Māori representation in decision-making.
- Greater recognition of Māori identity, language and culture.
- Addressing discrimination in institutions, including health, education and justice.
Their approach is that equity sometimes requires different approaches for different communities.
Source: Green Party 2026 manifesto. Manifesto 2026Where political parties stand on Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Labour Party
Treaty partnership within existing structures
Labour recognises Te Tiriti as New Zealand's founding document and supports the principles of partnership, protection and participation.
However, it is less supportive of major constitutional transformation than Te Pāti Māori and the Greens.
Its approach includes:
- Restoring explicit Treaty obligations removed from legislation.
- Supporting Māori participation in government decision-making.
- Recognising the importance of Māori-specific public services.
- Supporting Māori-led employment and economic development.
- Opposing attempts to redefine or diminish Treaty obligations.
Labour has previously established co-governance arrangements, including Three Waters and Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority).
Racial discrimination: Labour generally supports addressing systemic disadvantage through targeted policies, particularly in health, education, employment and social services.
Its 2026 commitments include:
- Māori-led vocational training, with $21 million annually.
- Supporting Māori businesses through government procurement.
- Restoring explicit Treaty obligations in education.
- Addressing disparities in employment and access to services.
Labour's approach is more incremental than that of the Greens or Te Pāti Māori. It has also ruled out Te Pāti Māori's proposed Treaty Commissioner.
Source: Labour's 2026 election policies. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesWhere political parties stand on Te Tiriti o Waitangi
The Opportunities Party (TOP)
Generally Treaty supportive
TOP takes a broadly supportive position on strengthening Te Tiriti, although its policies are less developed than those of the Greens and Te Pāti Māori.
Its position includes:
- Opposing ACT's Treaty Principles Bill.
- Supporting equitable Treaty settlements.
- Supporting greater teaching of Te Tiriti and New Zealand history.
- Reversing changes that restricted customary marine title.
- Supporting greater Māori autonomy in health and justice services.
Racial discrimination: TOP's general approach favours addressing unequal outcomes through better-designed public services and greater community autonomy.
An important qualification is that the extent of Māori constitutional authority and the party's specific commitments remain less clearly defined.
Source: The Opportunities Party. Where political parties stand on Te Tiriti o Waitangi
National Party
Crown sovereignty and equal citizenship
National recognises Te Tiriti as New Zealand's founding document.
However, it places greater emphasis on Crown sovereignty and equal treatment of citizens than on expanding Māori-specific governance arrangements.
National did not support ACT's Treaty Principles Bill beyond its first reading.
During its current term, the National-led government has overseen:
- The disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora.
- Removal of section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act.
- Changes to Treaty references in 19 pieces of legislation.
- Removal of ethnicity and race as explicit health-care prioritisation factors.
- The removal of compulsory Treaty education in schools.
- Changes to Māori ward arrangements in local government.
Some of these measures originated in coalition agreements with ACT and New Zealand First rather than being exclusively National policies.
Racial discrimination: National emphasises equal treatment, individual rights and access to public services based on circumstances and need rather than ethnicity.
It is less supportive of ethnicity-specific targets, procurement preferences and institutional arrangements that give Māori distinct decision-making roles.
Its position is that public services should work for everyone without racial preference.
Source: National Party and The Spinoff's party comparison. Where political parties stand on Te Tiriti o Waitangi
New Zealand First
Opposes expanded Treaty interpretation
New Zealand First recognises the Treaty and existing Treaty settlements but strongly opposes what it regards as the expansion of undefined Treaty principles.
It is particularly opposed to:
- Co-governance arrangements.
- Treaty-based constitutional transformation.
- Expanding Māori-specific political authority within government.
- Broad interpretations of Treaty principles in legislation.
It favours replacing general references to Treaty principles with specific statutory obligations.
Racial discrimination: NZ First argues that public services should be based on individual needs rather than ethnicity.
It strongly opposes what it describes as racial division or separatism in government services.
It also tends to place greater emphasis on individual responsibility and present-day circumstances than on historical explanations of current disadvantage.
Source: New Zealand First. Where political parties stand on Te Tiriti o Waitangi
ACT New Zealand
Strongest opposition to race-based policy
ACT has the most explicit position in favour of limiting the contemporary legal and political role of Treaty principles.
It accepts the Treaty as historically significant but rejects the interpretation that it establishes an ongoing partnership involving different political or legal rights based on ethnicity.
Its proposed approach includes:
- Establishing the principle of one law for all.
- Affirming parliamentary sovereignty.
- Limiting the use of Treaty principles in legislation.
- Restricting the circumstances in which courts can draw on tikanga Māori.
- Completing historical Treaty settlements and subsequently winding up the Waitangi Tribunal.
- Ending race-based preferences in public services and public-sector recruitment.
ACT's Treaty Principles Bill proposed that everyone should have equal legal rights, although it did not progress beyond its first parliamentary reading.
Racial discrimination: ACT argues that government assistance should be determined by need, not race.
It opposes ethnicity-specific government programmes, race-based recruitment and policies that it considers to give different rights or privileges to different ethnic groups.
Its philosophy is that equality means the same legal rights and treatment for every citizen.
Source: ACT New Zealand. Where political parties stand on Te Tiriti o Waitangi
3. The key disagreement: what does equality actually mean?
This is arguably the most important underlying philosophical difference.
There are two competing approaches.
Approach A: Equality of treatment
ACT, NZ First; broadly National
The government should treat individuals equally regardless of ethnicity.
- Public services should be based on individual need.
- Race should not determine access to government resources.
- Everyone should have the same legal and political rights.
- Historical injustices should be addressed through specific settlements rather than permanent ethnicity-based arrangements.
Underlying principle: Equal treatment regardless of race.
Approach B: Equity and Treaty partnership
Te Pāti Māori, Greens; broadly Labour and TOP
Treating everyone identically does not necessarily address historical and systemic inequalities.
- Māori have distinct rights as tangata whenua.
- The Crown has obligations under Te Tiriti.
- Māori should have meaningful authority over Māori affairs.
- Targeted services can be justified to address unequal outcomes.
- Historical dispossession requires structural responses, not simply equal treatment today.
Underlying principle: Equality requires recognising different circumstances, rights and historical obligations.
An important distinction: recognising Māori rights under Te Tiriti is not necessarily the same thing as racial discrimination. Supporters argue that these are obligations arising from a constitutional agreement, not simply preferential treatment based on race.
Critics question whether some contemporary policies go too far in differentiating citizens by ethnicity.
4. How these differences translate into practical policy
| Issue | ACT / NZ First | National | Labour | Greens / Te Pāti Māori |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treaty principles in law | Restrict | More limited application | Restore obligations | Expand application |
| Co-governance | Oppose | Generally cautious | Support some models | Strongly support |
| Māori-specific health services | Prefer needs-based universal services | Less supportive | Support | Strongly support |
| Māori representation | Equal citizenship emphasis | Mixed | Support participation | Strengthen Māori authority |
| Waitangi Tribunal | ACT proposes winding it up after settlements | Review and retain | Retain | Strengthen and expand powers |
| Māori land rights | Protect settled rights | More restrictive approach to some claims | Support settlements | Greater land return |
| Te reo Māori | Individual and cultural recognition, limited state obligations | Recognition with less emphasis on mandates | Support revitalisation | Strong state protection |
| Addressing institutional racism | Emphasise individual treatment | Emphasise equal treatment | Targeted interventions | Structural reform |
Where political parties stand on Te Tiriti o WaitangiManifesto 2026PolicyLabour's 2026 Election Policies
5. What about racial discrimination beyond Te Tiriti?
It is worth separating three questions that often get combined in election debates:
- Racial discrimination: Should anyone be treated unfairly because of their ethnicity? All the major parties can be understood as opposing unlawful racial discrimination, although they differ in how they define and address it.
- Māori-specific policies: Should Māori receive targeted services, representation or funding to address particular disadvantages? This is where the parties differ considerably.
- Te Tiriti obligations: Does the Crown have obligations to Māori that go beyond the general prohibition on racial discrimination? This is the deeper constitutional disagreement.
A party can oppose racial discrimination while also opposing Māori-specific programmes. Equally, a party can support Māori-specific policies while arguing that they are necessary to achieve substantive equality.
The distinction matters because the debate is not simply between parties that support racism and parties that oppose it.
6. Where to find the original policies
For further investigation, these are particularly useful:
- Policy.nz – 2026 Te Ao Māori policy comparison. A useful way to compare individual policy commitments.
- The Spinoff – Where political parties stand on Te Tiriti. A detailed comparison of the constitutional positions.
- Te Pāti Māori policy platform.
- Green Party 2026 manifesto.
- Labour 2026 policies.
My overall assessment
The election presents three broad choices about the future relationship between Māori and the Crown:
- A fundamental change to the constitutional relationship: Te Pāti Māori and the Greens want Te Tiriti to become a much stronger foundation for government, with greater Māori authority.
- A continuation of Treaty recognition with more moderate reforms: Labour and TOP support Treaty obligations and Māori-specific responses but are less ambitious about constitutional transformation.
- A move towards individual equality and narrower Treaty obligations: National, ACT and New Zealand First favour limiting ethnicity-based government arrangements, although National is less ideologically committed to this than its coalition partners.
One particularly important distinction for voters is that National, ACT and New Zealand First should not automatically be treated as having the same position on Te Tiriti. Their coalition has produced shared policy changes, but their underlying philosophies differ.
Ultimately, the question voters are being asked to consider is not just how much recognition Māori should receive. It is what kind of country New Zealand wants to be: one based primarily on equal individual citizenship, or one that also gives constitutional effect to the distinct relationship and obligations established by Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
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Captured 2 November 2026 · shown as ChatGPT gave it, not a verified account