Treaty bill submissions have closed. Now what?
David Seymour has welcomed the huge amount of public interest in his controversial proposed law.
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, January 15.
In today’s edition: Deputy police commissioner suspended amid criminal investigation, business confidence improves, and why petrol prices could soon top $3 a litre. But first, the record-busting submissions period for the treaty principles bill has closed.
An outpouring of interest
Submissions on the controversial treaty principles bill closed yesterday afternoon, following an extension triggered by technical issues that crashed parliament’s website. While the finally tally of online submissions on the bill won’t be known until tomorrow, it’s almost certainly going to break records. The Post’s Anna Whyte reported that more than 300,000 submissions were made online prior to the deadline being extended, meaning the final number will be well in excess of that. In addition, thousands of hard copy submissions were delivered to parliament. David Seymour, the bill’s architect, told Stuff’s Glenn McConnell that the public response was a good thing. “Even people who don’t support my bill appear to be supporting the idea of mass participation in what the Treaty means in 2025. I think that is very, very exciting,” he said.
The path from here
So what happens next? The justice select committee will meet on Thursday to decide how it goes about handling the vast number of submissions. This will include deciding how to deal with submissions made using template forms provided by groups both in favour and against the bill to make providing feedback quicker. As soon as is possible, accepted submissions will be released to the public. The committee will also decide how to hear oral submissions, with these expected to be wrapped up by the end of next month. Not everyone who requested the chance to share their feedback in person or on Zoom will be able to do so, however. Justice committee chair James Meager, reported The Herald’s Adam Pearse, said that the committee had “received more requests for oral submissions than we will be able to accommodate, so only a small proportion of submitters will be able to be heard from”.
Speaking to The Spinoff’s Toby Manhire last year, Meager said the select committee intended to treat the submissions on the bill as it would with any other piece of proposed legislation, despite the fact it is destined not to pass its second reading. “It is still, I think, worth having the conversation when it comes before us and treating it with the respect that you treat any other piece of legislation.”
The committee is due to report back following consultation in May.
Surge of submissions on regulations proposal
Meanwhile, a wave of late submissions were also delivered ahead of the release of another bill also championed by Act leader David Seymour. The Regulatory Standards Bill doesn’t even exist yet, and yet close to 23,000 submissions were received on a discussion document intended to inform the drafting of the bill, reported RNZ’s Lillian Hanly. There has been increased awareness of the future bill as it’s drawn into the orbit of the treaty principles bill, noted Hanly. Many of the submissions – around 80% – came in the final four days of the consultation period. The Spinoff’s Lyric Waiwiri-Smith has a good explainer on the proposed bill this morning, noting that some see the bill as a natural companion to the treaty principles bill. Lady Tureiti Moxon, chairwoman of the National Urban Māori Authority, has argued the proposed bill poses “a dangerous direct threat to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the rights of Māori”.
It’s not Act’s first attempt at having a regulatory standards bill become law, but due to its inclusion in the coalition agreement with National, this time it will pass.
Arms Act ‘rewrite’ up for consultation
If you’re wondering if there are any other controversial proposed law changes open for consultation, well, you’re in luck. The government’s intended rewrite of the Arms Act is open for submissions, reports Farmer’s Weekly, and will run through until the end of next month. Responses to the Ministry of Justice discussion document will help inform the government’s planned law update. Associate justice minister Nicole McKee said the government wanted to ensure that New Zealand had a “fit-for-purpose regime” for controlling firearms, with “public safety and simple, effective regulatory processes at its heart”. As of last year, McKee wouldn’t rule out trying to re-introduce semi-automatic firearms outlawed in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attack.
Have thoughts? Join the conversation in the comments.
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Deputy police commissioner suspended amid criminal investigation
The country’s second most power cop has been suspended from work, with full pay, while a criminal investigation into his alleged conduct is carried out. As Stuff’s Sam Sherwood and Blair Ensor report, Jevon McSkimming has been on leave since the end of last year after after scrutiny over his behaviour towards a much younger former female non-sworn police employee. His lawyers, Michael Heron KC and Linda Clark, said McSkimming was “cooperating fully with police and look[ed] forward to the investigation being concluded swiftly”.
More reading:
Business confidence on the up
We talked yesterday about how the economy was off to a shaky start in 2025, with the New Zealand Dollar slipping and talk of a smaller than expected rates cut next month. Nevertheless, the latest quarterly survey from the NZ Institute of Economic Research shows business confidence has risen, reported The Post’s Tom Pullar-Strecker. A net 9% of businesses expected a better economy over the next six months, up from a net 4% of companies being pessimistic about the economic outlook last quarter.
More reading:
Stuttering start to 2025 for business confidence (BusinessDesk, paywalled)
No-one knows which way inflation is heading in 2025 (Interest)
Join us live in 2025
We have four fantastic live events in 2025. Join us in Auckland and Wellington for The Spinoff Live!
Auckland at Q Theatre: Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club Party, February 13 and Gone by Lunchtime Live, April 9.
Wellington at the Hannah Playhouse: The Fold Live, February 20 and The Spinoff Book Club, March 13.
The reality of raising a trans child
This morning on The Spinoff, a parent shares their experience and fears as public submissions are sought on the use of puberty blockers for gender-affirming care.
When my daughter Marie was born, everyone, including me, thought she was a boy. She started telling my partner and I that she wasn’t as soon as she learned to express herself. Many months later, when we finally understood what she was trying to tell us, that she was a girl and definitely not a boy, it took even more time to accept and act on it. We knew vaguely that gender non-conforming and transgender kids face a lot of bullying and friction in their lives and we didn’t want her to have to go through any of that. We were trying to protect her. We were both afraid.
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Click and Collect
Pain at the pump: Why petrol prices could soon top $3 a litre.
I’ve just installed a (very temporary) fly screen on my house, so I enjoyed this piece by RNZ’s Serena Solomon looking at why New Zealanders don’t like them.
The Princess of Wales has revealed she is in remission from cancer.
The 10 emails to Minister Nicole McKee that helped toughen Three Strikes. (NZ Herald premium, paywalled)
What’s up with Trump yearning for all these other territories? Let Shit You Should Care About explain.
Tara Ward and Alex Casey write in from the South Island mourning their non-existent sunny holiday. For The Cost of Being, a high-earning 30-something with a budget category for protein powder breaks down his expenses. Return to some favourite Spinoff stories from the past year: Toby Manhire live-blogging 1984 (retrospectively), Rachel Judkins imagining how Aotearoa could look now if weed had been legalised in 2020 and Preyanka Gothanayagi exploring how Wellington became a cornucopia of Malaysian food.
That’s it for another day. Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow.
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"...Seymour, the bill’s architect, told Stuff’s Glenn McConnell that the public response was a good thing...", I suppose he's right if you're trying to create division and polarisation.
Lol, maybe he has but NOT in the way he's meaning!!!
And WHY is it that it (RSB) being said that it will go thru - even before the final document hasn't even been put out?
He is the most dangerous, evil nazi atlas ghoul we have ever had!!!