The Waitangi Tribunal has granted an urgent inquiry into recent amendments to the Education and Training Act 2020 and the reset of Te Mātaiaho (The New Zealand Curriculum).
“This follows an unprecedented show of public support by more than 72 per cent of school boards to continue to uphold their commitment to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, regardless of the Government scrapping this obligation under urgency last year,” NZEI Te Riu Roa President Ripeka Lessels said.
NZEI Te Riu Roa, Te Rūnunga o Ngāti Hine, and Te Kapotai have sought an urgent Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into the Government’s decision to remove legal obligations for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti under urgency last year.
The groups also challenge the deprioritisation of te reo Māori, tikanga, mātauranga Māori, and Aotearoa histories in the curriculum. They allege these unilateral changes constitute a breach of Te Tiriti and have caused “significant and irreversible prejudice” against Māori.
“It is clear that the Crown’s amendments to section 127 of the Act meet the ‘importance’ test of granting urgency,” the Waitangi Tribunal said in its decision to grant an urgent hearing.
“Any legislative change altering the nature and manner of the Crown’s Treaty obligations has a constitutional significance. That is especially so in a case where Māori have not been consulted.”
The Waitangi Tribunal added that “the removal of an express statutory obligation requiring school boards to give effect to the Treaty has immediate consequences for the status of the Treaty and for tamariki Māori within the education system.”
The Tribunal also dismissed Crown arguments that future reviews provided sufficient recourse, saying it is “not persuaded that these pathways constitute reasonable or effective alternative remedies.”
“The prejudice alleged arises now from the removal of a statutory Treaty obligation, and deferral to a distant kaupapa inquiry or future review would not provide timely or targeted scrutiny of the specific Treaty issues raised.”
Mrs Lessels hailed the decision to grant an urgent hearing as a big first step for ākonga Māori and the wider education sector.
“This is a win for those who believe Te Tiriti belongs at the heart of our schools,” Mrs Lessels said. “It also reflects the strong concerns of more than 1840 school boards that last year publicly committed to continue to uphold Te Tiriti.”
“This decision validates our concerns that the Crown has breached its Te Tiriti obligations. The narrow window for consultation on the new curriculum did not allow genuine consultation to occur, and we are relieved the Tribunal recognises the immediate prejudice these changes cause,” Mrs Lessels added.
ENDS