Thousands marched in a hīkoi protesting against the Treaty Principles Bill in November. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
A group who won an urgent hearing at the Waitangi Tribunal to raise their concerns about the Regulatory Standards Bill want it brought forward now the bill is being taken to Cabinet in 10 days.
Toitū te Tiriti, a claimant group with more than 12,000 registered members, also wants ACT leader David Seymour summonsed to answer questions about the bill which they claim - if enacted - would breach Te Tiriti and cause significant prejudice to Māori.
In a memo to the Tribunal, the group outlined through its lawyers Tamaki Legal, that it wanted the urgent hearing brought forward after learning on Wednesday from the Crown that Cabinet would "proceed with authorising the bill for introduction to the House" on 19 May.
Tamaki Legal said the urgency was "completely attributable to the Crown's extremely late notification of the pending Cabinet decision, despite months of waiting for this information to be provided".
The hearing had been set down for 6 June but Toitū te Tiriti, the group behind last year's Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti, want it brought forward to a one-day online hearing on 13 May.
The memo stated the group want Seymour, as Minister for Regulation, to front at the hearing to answer questions from both the Tribunal and the claimants.
"The minister is an appropriate witness since his was the directing mind behind the Regulatory Standards Bill policy recently adopted by the Crown," the memo said.
"It is for the minister to explain why he is proceeding with the bill against the advice of his own ministry.
"It is for the minister to explain why Te Tiriti was entirely omitted from the bill and why it has been breached multiple times during the consultation process.
"It is for the minister to explain why there was no direct engagement with Māori on this bill, despite the fundamental and significant constitutional impacts this bill will have on Te Tiriti and the Crown/Māori relationship."
A discussion document on the matter had been open for consultation to inform the drafting of the legislation.
It included a set of principles outlining what constituted "responsible regulation", including rule of law, liberties, taking of property, taxes, fees and levies, role of courts, good law-making and regulatory stewardship.
A preliminary Treaty Impact Analysis conducted for the proposed bill noted it did not include a principle related to Te Tiriti and its role as part of good law-making.
Earlier this week Seymour said the Regulatory Standards Bill would "help New Zealand get its mojo back" by shining a light on bad lawmaking.
The bill was part of the National-Act coalition agreement and the legislation had been 20 years in the making, following three failed attempts to make it law.
Seymour said the bill's intention was to "improve the quality of regulation" by codifying principles of "good regulatory practice".
"In a nutshell, if red tape is holding us back, because politicians find regulating politically rewarding, then we need to make regulating less rewarding for politicians with more sunlight on their activities."
The bill would create a "benchmark for good legislation" through those principles, he said.
And it would require those making legislation to openly assess how that legislation was consistent with the principles.
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