11/11/2025
Iwi leaders take urgent court action as RMA reforms threaten Treaty Settlements.
Waikato Executive Chair Tukoroirangi Morgan has filed legal proceedings today on behalf of the National Iwi Chairs Forum and Waikato iwi, seeking court declarations to clarify the Crown’s obligations to uphold Treaty of Waitangi settlements amid the Government’s proposed resource management reforms.
The action comes as the Government moves to introduce new legislation to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA) by the end of the year.
Morgan, who helped negotiate the Waikato River Settlement and the Kiingitanga Accord alongside the late Lady Raiha Mahuta, says iwi and hapū leaders have lost confidence in the Government’s ability to protect the integrity and intent of Treaty settlements. He argues that despite assurances from ministers, iwi engagement on the reform process has been superficial and treated as an “afterthought.”
He says Treaty settlements were deliberately interwoven with resource management law and must therefore be central to any replacement framework. “The Crown cannot unilaterally change settlements in a manner that diminishes that compact,” Morgan warned, adding that failure to do so could reignite grievances and force iwi back into negotiations. “This Government is not listening, so it needs to be told.”
Iwi leaders take urgent court action as RMA reforms threaten Treaty Settlements.
Waikato Executive Chair Tukoroirangi Morgan has filed legal proceedings today on behalf of the National Iwi Chairs Forum and Waikato iwi, seeking court declarations to clarify the Crown’s obligations to uphold Treaty of Waitangi settlements amid the Government’s proposed resource management reforms.
The action comes as the Government moves to introduce new legislation to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA) by the end of the year.
Morgan, who helped negotiate the Waikato River Settlement and the Kiingitanga Accord alongside the late Lady Raiha Mahuta, says iwi and hapū leaders have lost confidence in the Government’s ability to protect the integrity and intent of Treaty settlements. He argues that despite assurances from ministers, iwi engagement on the reform process has been superficial and treated as an “afterthought.”
He says Treaty settlements were deliberately interwoven with resource management law and must therefore be central to any replacement framework. “The Crown cannot unilaterally change settlements in a manner that diminishes that compact,” Morgan warned, adding that failure to do so could reignite grievances and force iwi back into negotiations. “This Government is not listening, so it needs to be told.”
