from Don Brash of Hobson’s Pledge

Group of people embracing outside New Zealand Parliament buildings
Maori and Pakeha embrace outside New Zealand’s Parliament — wouldn’t it be good instead of all the racial hostility TPM/Green/Labour have stirred up? (AI image)

For years, Hobson’s Pledge was one of the few organisations willing to speak up publicly — calling for an end to division, a firm deadline on historical Treaty settlements, and the eventual closing of the Waitangi Tribunal. Back then, political commentators claimed it couldn’t be done.

In the past few weeks, we have seen a very clear shift in the conversation, and the political landscape, when it comes to promoting equal rights, is changing for the better. 

We now have two out of the three governing parties aligned with our core vision:

  • The ACT Party has officially proposed policy to complete all remaining historical Treaty claims, end the Tribunal’s contemporary jurisdiction, and disestablish the Tribunal entirely once historical work is finished. 
  • New Zealand First and Winston Peters have gone even further, pledging to immediately abolish the Tribunal and set a clear end date for all pre-2008 claims.

David Seymour and the ACT Party made their announcement at the start of September. 

Over the weekend, Winston Peters announced that NZ First will campaign on immediately abolishing the Waitangi Tribunal and tabling legislation in their first 100 days to replace it with a final Treaty of Waitangi Completion Commission.

He publicly called out the Tribunal for becoming a “make-work organisation” that interferes with democratic law-making – concerns we at Hobson’s Pledge have been raising for years.

This is a massive breakthrough.

I recently wrote to Winston Peters on behalf of Hobson’s Pledge urging NZ First to take a strong, unequivocal stand—and they have delivered.

See an excerpt of our letter to Winston Peters here, sent on 14 September 2026:

“As New Zealand approaches the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty in 2040, many New Zealanders are asking whether there is a clear endpoint to the settlement process and whether institutions established to address historical grievances should continue indefinitely once that task has been completed.

Hobson’s Pledge is keen to ensure our supporters understand where NZ First stands on these matters.  In particular, we would welcome your responses to:

  • Whether NZ First supports the principle that historical Treaty settlements should be completed as full and final settlements.
  • Whether NZ First supports the disestablishment of the Waitangi Tribunal once all historical claims have been resolved.

We also encourage you and NZ First to adopt a similar policy position as the ACT Party and to make it part of any future coalition policy agreement.

Hobson’s Pledge will welcome your timely and clear statement on these matters so in turn we can share with our supporters.”

That leaves just one government party holding back complete reform: the National Party.

I wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon as well, but so far there has been no reply. 

With two out of three governing parties now committed to ending or disestablishing the Waitangi Tribunal, Christopher Luxon and National can no longer hide on the fence. But as we move deeper into this election period, National will only move if they feel unrelenting pressure from everyday New Zealanders who want equal citizenship and a single law for all.

This is our best opportunity in a generation to finally close down the Tribunal for good, but running a campaign that National cannot ignore requires real resources.