Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
The Waitangi Tribunal has recommended a Māori man seeking citizenship for his children should be granted it.
The Citizenship Act 1977 provides for four types of citizenship - citizenship by birth, descent, grant, and special grant - but it limits citizenship by descent to one generation.
The Tribunal recommended that citizenship by descent be extended to two generations for Māori.
The claim was brought by John Ruddock (Ngāpuhi), who was born in Australia and became a New Zealand citizen by descent through his Māori mother. But his children are not New Zealand citizens under the Act despite their whakapapa, as they were born in the United States.
John Bryers Ruddock pictured with his children, who are 8, 9 and 12. Photo: John Bryers Ruddock / Supplied
A range of others have been affected and some gave evidence, including actress Keisha Castle-Hughes (Ngāti Porou, Tainui, Ngāpuhi), who was born in Australia and whose daughter was born in the United States and is therefore not eligible for citizenship by descent.
Judge Alana Thomas said the claim addresses far wider issues facing an increasing number of Māori born overseas to parents themselves born outside New Zealand.
The Tribunal found that the Crown has breached the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in a number of ways, including by:
- designing an application process in which a Government official is empowered to determine the legitimacy of someone's whakapapa, which breached the principles of active protection and rangatiratanga.
- prioritising location of birth over whakapapa during the citizenship application process, which breached the principle of good government.
Judge Thomas said the Tribunal's position is that the Citizenship Act is outdated and requires amendment.
"This is not a situation where the Tribunal has been asked to inquire as to whether a current te Tiriti clause in legislation is Treaty compliant, or whether an acknowledgement of Māori as tangata whenua goes far enough - there is simply nothing in the Citizenship Act 1977 of that nature.
"The wording of the legislation is void of any recognition of Māori as tangata whenua, and of any recognition of te Tiriti as our founding document. We have seen that this silence has become problematic for Māori who seek citizenship and permanent residency within their tūrangawaewae."
Judge Thomas said New Zealand as a whole would benefit from a review and amendment of the Act.
The Tribunals Recommendations
The Tribunal recommends the Crown enter into consultation with Māori to provide for co-design of, or full reflection of Māori views in, amendments to the Citizenship Act 1977:
- to include an acknowledgement of the status of Māori as tangata whenua
- to include a provision requiring the Act to give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles
- to establish a tikanga pathway to citizenship that allows for hapū and iwi to assess whakapapa evidence
The Tribunal also made three further recommendations for the Crown to act on immediately while the consultation outlined above is taking place:
- amend section 8(2)(e) of the Citizenship Act 1977 to include 'or te reo Māori'
- provide Ruddock with citizenship by grant if he wants it
- extend citizenship by descent to two generations for Māori.
Legislation out of date: Lawyer
Season-Mary Downs is the lawyer for Castle-Hughes, and told Checkpoint the Waitangi Tribunal report was significant.
"It [the report] examined the Citizen Act of 1977 and commented on how out of date that legislation is for Aotearoa.
"It requires modernisation for all New Zealanders who are making applications under the act.
Downs said the recommended changes would have a big impact on those overseas.
"It would open up that pathway for a significant number of people who are already overseas and prevent them having to go through the experience Ruddock and Castle-Hughes had to go through."
While Downs said there was a case for Māori to be recognised by their tangata whenua status and Te Tiriti O Waitangi and the rights that arise for Māori under the legislation, the modernisation of the Citizenship Act would benefit all New Zealanders.
For those overseas applying for citizenship for their children, Downs said the implications were far reaching, from not being able to be residents of New Zealand, to their children's Whakapapa and identity assessed by the Department of Internal affairs, as well as accessing healthcare and education.
"They spoke to those experiences, and they were undeniable.
"There was absolutely the perception and the feeling that they were being treated unfairly in a system where whakapapa shouldn't be questioned or denied, they felt a severance, an alienation."
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