As Aotearoa moves toward the 2026 election, the legacy of the Coalition Government elected in 2023 will be measured not only in fiscal spreadsheets or GDP graphs, but in the state of its relationship with Māori and the integrity of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Across health, governance, social services, whenua, education and constitutional reform, a consistent pattern has emerged — one that many see as a deliberate dismantling of Tiriti-based progress painstakingly built over the past five decades.
Health: Undoing Equity
The repeal of Health Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 provisions that established Te Aka Whai Ora marked one of the Coalition’s earliest and most symbolic moves. Te Aka Whai Ora was designed to commission Māori-led health services to address entrenched life expectancy inequities. Its abolition removed a structural commitment to Māori self-determination in health delivery.
Equally concerning was the repeal of amendments to the Smoke-free Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990, which had introduced world-leading tobacco reduction measures. Public health experts warned that reversing these measures would disproportionately impact Māori mortality rates. The evidence was clear: tobacco harm is not evenly distributed. Yet ideology triumphed over data.
Governance: Majority Rule over Tiriti Partnership
The proposed Treaty Principles Bill and the passage of the Regulatory Standards Act 2025 signal a deeper constitutional shift. The Regulatory Standards framework elevates individual property rights while creating mechanisms to review Te Tiriti clauses in existing legislation. For many constitutional scholars, this reframes Te Tiriti from a foundational covenant into a discretionary reference point.
Similarly, changes under the Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2024 mandated binding referendums on Māori wards. Tiriti-founded representation was subjected to majority vote — a move that resulted in the removal of Māori wards in several districts. Partnership was reduced to popularity.
Social Services: Whakapapa Sidelined
The repeal of section 7AA obligations within the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 removed the requirement for the state to prioritise whakapapa and mana tamaiti in care decisions. This shift occurred despite decades of evidence documenting the intergenerational harm caused by disconnection from culture, land and identity.
At the same time, the Government’s redress legislation responding to the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care has been criticised by survivor groups as limiting accountability and narrowing pathways to justice. For many Māori survivors, the Crown’s response feels procedural rather than transformative.
Whenua and Taiao: Raising the Bar
Amendments to the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 have imposed a significantly higher legal threshold for iwi and hapū seeking recognition of customary rights. At the same time, the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 grants ministers authority to bypass established environmental and Tiriti-based consultation processes for major infrastructure projects.
These moves collectively signal a retreat from shared stewardship of whenua and moana, privileging extractive development over relational guardianship.
Education and Te Reo Māori: Narrowing the Lens
Changes under the Education and Training Act 2020 removed explicit obligations for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Public service directives mandating English names for government departments and restricting te reo Māori in official communications further signal a symbolic and practical narrowing of bicultural commitment.
Language revitalisation is not cosmetic. It is central to identity, wellbeing and cultural survival. Curtailing its visibility sends a powerful message about whose knowledge counts.
Taken together, these reforms paint a damning picture. They reflect not isolated policy adjustments but a coordinated ideological repositioning — one that restores colonial assumptions under the banner of “equality” while sidelining evidence-based research from Māori legal scholars, academics, health experts and community leaders.
Over nearly fifty years, Aotearoa painstakingly gathered research demonstrating that equity requires targeted solutions, that partnership strengthens democracy, and that Tiriti commitments enhance — rather than threaten — national cohesion. The Coalition has strategically moved the political lamp posts. The question is whether the public will follow.
As the 2026 election approaches, voters must decide what kind of nation we wish to be. One grounded in relational accountability and shared authority? Or one that reverts to majoritarian minimalism?
Where to from here?
The future of Te Tiriti will not be decided solely in Parliament. It will be shaped in marae, classrooms, courtrooms, health clinics and ballot boxes. The coming election is not simply about policy preference. It is about whether Aotearoa honours its founding covenant in good faith — or whether we allow generational regression to define our constitutional story.
History is watching. So are our mokopuna.
