Our intentions: How well are public organisations meeting their Treaty settlement commitments?

Over the years since it was signed in 1840, the Crown has not met its obligations to Māori under te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi. In modern times, this has led to claims against the Crown through the Waitangi Tribunal.

Since the 1980s, successive Governments have attempted to settle historical claims and provide redress for Treaty breaches. By 2023, more than 100 settlements had been reached with more than 70 different groups, and further settlements will be reached in the future. Collectively, the settlements involve more than 10,000 specific commitments that place a legal obligation on particular public organisations. These commitments vary widely in complexity. Some involve one-off actions, such as the transfer of land, while others require long-term delivery and the maintenance of relationships with settling iwi.

For Treaty settlements to be enduring, public organisations need to meet these commitments in a timely and effective way.

What we’re focusing on

We will be carrying out an audit to determine how well public organisations are set up to meet their Treaty settlement commitments. We will look at the oversight and monitoring role of Te Arawhiti (The Office for Māori Crown Relations), and the role of Te Kawa Mataaho – Public Service Commission. We will look at a selection of commitments held by a range of public organisations, including core Crown agencies and councils.

We want to find out:

• how well the Crown and public organisations understand the commitments they are responsible for;
• how well public organisations set themselves up to meet those commitments through their internal accountability and reporting arrangements, resourcing, policies, systems, and processes; and
• how well the public sector arrangements for meeting those commitments provide assurance, transparency, and accountability for meeting redress and relationship obligations.

The difference we expect to make

This performance audit is an opportunity to support the integrity and durability of Treaty settlements by sharing examples of good practice and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Our audit is an opportunity to:

• strengthen the way that public organisations are set up to meet Treaty settlement commitments;
• strengthen the oversight, monitoring, and reporting arrangements for Treaty settlement commitments; and
• strengthen transparency, assurance, and accountability to iwi and hapū, the Crown, Parliament, and the wider public about the progress with meeting Treaty settlement commitments.

Please use the feedback form on the right if you’d like to speak to a staff member about this audit, make a suggestion, or ask a question.

We expect to complete this work in early 2025.