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→Opposition to the Treaty Principles: two distinct members bills
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==Opposition to the Treaty Principles==
The "Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill" was introduced to the New Zealand Parliament in 2005 as a [[private member's bill|member's bill]] by [[New Zealand First]] MP [[Doug Woolerton]]. "This bill eliminates all references to the expressions 'the principles of the Treaty', 'the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi' and the 'Treaty of Waitangi and its principles' from all New Zealand Statutes including all preambles, interpretations, schedules, regulations and other provisos included in or arising from each and every such Statute".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/feature/?i=27|publisher=[[New Zealand First]]|title=Doug Woolerton's Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill|accessdate=13 June 2007 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070701035301/http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/feature/?i=27 |archivedate = 1 July 2007}}</ref>
At the first reading of the bill, New Zealand First leader [[Winston Peters]] said:
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This bill seeks to do three fundamental things. First, as the bill's title implies, it seeks to remove all references to the undefined and divisive term "the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi" from legislation. Second, it seeks to reverse the insidious culture of division that has grown up around the existence of these principles. It has seen Māori pitted against Māori and non-Māori, seen family members pitted against each other, and gone right to the heart of our social fabric. Finally, the bill aims to put an end to the expensive and never-ending litigious programme that has sprung up around these principles. This programme has diverted hundreds of millions of dollars into dead-end paths and away from the enlightened programmes that are the true pathway to success.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20050608_00001017/principles-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi-deletion-bill-%E2%80%94-first | title=Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill – First Reading | work=New Zealand Parliament | accessdate=6 February 2015}}</ref>}}
After failing to pass it's first reading, the bill was reintroduced after the 2005 election, with the Labour Party promising to support the bill to select committee as part of its confidence and supply agreement with New Zealand First.<ref>{{cite web |title=Confidence and Supply Agreement with New Zealand First |url=https://assets.nationbuilder.com/nzfirst/pages/3875/attachments/original/1656845221/NZFirst_Labour_Confidence_and_Supply_2005.pdf?1656845221 |publisher=Government of New Zealand |access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref> This time, the Bill passed first reading 111 votes in favour (Labour, National, New Zealand First, United Future, ACT New Zealand, and Progressive), 10 votes against (Green Party, Māori Party).<ref>{{cite book |title=Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) Volume 632 |date=26 July 2006 |publisher=New Zealand House of Representatives |location=Wellington |page=4471 |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1Iwfzv-Mt3CeHR5Wm9scG1TT28/view?resourcekey=0-iZ0D-_YcEvmj8oJRACjtHw |access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref>
The bill failed to pass its second reading in November 2007.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 November 2007 |title=New Zealand Parliament – Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill |url=https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/00DBHOH_BILL7417_1/principles-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi-deletion-bill |accessdate=1 November 2011 |publisher=Parliament.nz}}</ref>▼
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In a legal analysis of the bill for Chapman Tripp, David Cochrane argued that without the principles it would probably be an "impossible task" for the Waitangi Tribunal to carry out its role.<ref name="ChapmanTripp" />
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