Schools Treaty decision blindsided Māori and Crown should apologise, Waitangi Tribunal says

The Waitangi Tribunal has found the Crown acted abruptly, unilaterally and with no consultation with Māori when it removed school boards' obligations to give effect to the Treaty.

It says the decision blindsided Māori, lacked honour and the Crown should apologise.

A tribunal report, released on Friday, addresses the November 2025 removal of the explicit statutory obligation in the Education Act requiring school boards ensure schools give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

It's the third report from the Tribunal on changes in the education sector.

The first concerned changes to Treaty provisions in the Education and Training Act.

The second report examined the Government's rewrite of the school curriculum, which the Tribunal called "ideological".

The Tribunal found the Crown's Treaty breaches have caused prejudice to Māori, including harm to the Māori-Crown relationship and the likelihood that the removal of section 127(1)(d) of the Education and Training Act 2020 would leave school boards' commitment to the Treaty to chance.

In her letter to Ministers Presiding, Officer Rachel Mullins said the Crown abruptly proposed to remove section 127(1)(d), introducing the amendment at the Committee of the Whole House stage, a process which "blindsided Māori and bypassed any engagement on the reforms".

"Despite the Act's express purpose, the Crown adopted a process that excluded its Treaty partner altogether. We found that process fell short of the standard of honour required of the Crown, breached its Treaty obligations, and harmed the Māori-Crown relationship."

The Tribunal found the Crown lacked feedback from whānau, hapū, iwi, school board members, and the wider education sector on the implications of its specific statutory changes.

"Compounding these deficiencies, there is no evidence the Crown sought official advice regarding its proposal.

"The rushed process carried out by the Crown also left no time for a Regulatory Impact Statement to inform Cabinet's decision to introduce the amendment."

The tribunal also considered the replacement section of the Act, which it found to be "deficient in several key aspects".

It found the Crown's lack of clarity about the continued relevance of the Treaty to school boards' operations has also created confusion, which "may be the largest and most lasting form of prejudice".

"In doing this, the Crown has created unnecessary ambiguity and sends an incorrect signal to school boards that the Treaty is no longer important or relevant in their work. It introduces risk that the Crown's Treaty obligations in the everyday schooling context will not be realised," Mullins wrote.

The Tribunal recommended the Crown formally apologise to Māori for its breaches of the Treaty arising from the removal of the obligations.

"The Crown removed a significant statutory Tiriti obligation abruptly, unilaterally, and without engagement with Māori, despite knowing both the importance of the provision to Māori and its obligation to engage with its Treaty partner."

Secondly, the Tribunal recommended that the Crown restore the obligations which were formerly contained in section 127(1)(d) to the Education and Training Act 2020 in its entirety.

They further recommended that the Crown work with Māori in the education sector to determine how the provision is to be reinstated within the present statutory framework, "while preserving its full substance and effect".

RNZ has approached Minister of Education Erica Stanford for comment.