ACT’s latest policy announcement would have the Waitangi Tribunal wound up once the last historic grievances are resolved. Party leader David Seymour says claims had to be registered by 2008 and most have now been dealt with, with the Ngāpuhi settlement the biggest still outstanding.

“The Waitangi Tribunal has become almost like a parallel political body that is unelected,” he says.

“If democracy and the rule of law are adequate to uphold New Zealanders’ rights, then they will uphold Māori rights as well.”

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