Waitangi Day Act 1960
For some years before 1960, Māori, especially Ngapuhi, had campaigned for Waitangi Day to be a public holiday in recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi. The promise of a public holiday was part of Labour's 1957 election manifesto. Labour was subsequently elected as the second Labour government, but decided that New Zealand could not afford another public holiday. The Waitangi Day Act was a compromise which allowed them to claim they had kept their promise, without actually creating a holiday.
The Act consisted of three clauses and established that the sixth of February would be known as Waitangi Day and 'shall be observed throughout New Zealand as a national day of thanksgiving in commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.'
It did not make Waitangi Day a public holiday, but allowed the Governor-General to declare it one in any region, in substitute for that region's anniversary public holiday. The Act contained the English-language version of the Treaty of Waitangi as a schedule, the first time that the Treaty had appeared anywhere in New Zealand legislation.
Māori were generally disappointed by the act, and continued to press for a public holiday. The National Party opposition spent most of the debate on the Act criticising the government for breaking their promise, but also felt that New Zealand could not afford another public holiday.
The politics of New Zealand function within a framework of a unitary parliamentary representative democracy. The structure of government is based on the Westminster system, and the legal system is modelled on the common law of England. New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy, in which King Charles III is the sovereign and head of state.
The Treaty of Waitangi is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the Māori population in New Zealand, by successive governments and the wider population, a role that has been especially prominent from the late 20th century. The treaty document is an agreement, not a treaty as recognised in international law and it has no independent legal status, being legally effective only to the extent it is recognised in various statutes. It was first signed on 6 February 1840 by Captain William Hobson as consul for the British Crown and by Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand.
Waitangi Day, the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing – on 6 February 1840 – of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is regarded as the founding document of the nation. The first Waitangi Day was not celebrated until 1934, and it was made a national public holiday in 1974.
The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to actions or omissions of the Crown, in the period largely since 1840, that breach the promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi. The Tribunal is not a court of law; therefore, the Tribunal's recommendations and findings are not binding on the Crown. They are sometimes not acted on, for instance in the foreshore and seabed dispute.
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The Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 established the Waitangi Tribunal and gave the Treaty of Waitangi recognition in New Zealand law for the first time. The Tribunal was empowered to investigate possible breaches of the Treaty by the New Zealand government or any state-controlled body, occurring after 1975. It was also empowered to recommend, but not enforce, remedies.
The New Zealand Day Act 1973 made the sixth of February a public holiday in New Zealand. The day had been known for some time as Waitangi Day and commemorated the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. In 1960 the first Waitangi Day Act was passed enabling any area of the country to substitute a Waitangi Day holiday for its provincial anniversary day. This was done for Northland in 1963.
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Hobson's Pledge is a right-wing lobby group in New Zealand that was formed in late September 2016 to oppose equitable measures for Māori people. It is led by conservative politician Don Brash. The group aims to nullify the partnership between the Crown and Māori, remove the Māori electorates, abolish the Waitangi Tribunal, restrict tribal powers and “remove all references in law and in Government policy to Treaty ‘partnership’ and ‘principles’”. It is named after William Hobson, the first Governor-General of New Zealand and co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi. Hobson’s quote on the day of the first signing of the Treaty, “he iwi tahi tātou”, has been used by the group to market their beliefs, with the common translation of the phrase: “we are now one people”.
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