Waitangi Tribunal member Richard Prebble resigns

Former Act leader and Labour minister Richard Prebble has resigned from the Waitangi Tribunal.

He was appointed to the role in October, 2024, by Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka.

He told RNZ he had become increasingly alarmed by the Tribunal's decisions over the summer, but "it was only when I had the strategic plan drawn to my attention, about 10 days ago" that led him to resign.

"One of the purposes of the Tribunal - and I know this because I voted for it - was that we knew that there were some historic grievances and they ought to be resolved, and the intention was that the Tribunal would, over time, reduce the number of grievances.

"But as a result of its decision that there's not one Treaty, but two, and the Treaties themselves are basically a socialist manifesto, there's going to be endless numbers of grievances and I can see division in New Zealand being increased rather than decreased.

"And I don't want to be part of it."

Asked what he meant about it being a "socialist manifesto", he pointed to the Tribunal's strategic direction - updated in 2020 - which points to inquiries into various aspects of social life including "citizenship rights and equality".

"When you say that the treaty promises equality, that's the socialist dream. That's what socialists are in favor of. And socialist regimes, communist regimes, have all attempted to make everyone equal, and they've all failed," he said.

"To have it now as a Treaty guarantee means that we're going to have successive governments will have claims that they haven't achieved equality. Well, I hate to be the first person to say this, but they, regardless of their intentions, they will never achieve that. People just aren't equal.

"I think aiming for equality and equality of opportunity is a very worthwhile endeavor. What I'm saying is that no one puts in their constitution that you can bring a court case against the government if the outcome of a program you went to wasn't equal. That's how life is."

Despite the recency of his appointment, he said he did not regret accepting the position.

"I don't know if it's the right way to put it ... When the government asks you to do a role, I think you should accept, if you can, unless there's a counter reason.

"I support the Treaty. I support the idea of having a Tribunal, and I think in its first 40 years, it's done a reasonably good job."

However, he said the way the Treaty was now being interpreted would come as a great shock "not just to governor Hobson but to the chiefs who signed it".

"There can't have been a single chief in 1840 who thought that by signing this Treaty, he was issuing a guarantee that his ancestors could bring a case regarding social welfare ... the concept of social welfare would have been strange to all of them."

'Due diligence': Tribunal responds

In a statement, Tribunal Chair Caren Fox said she accepted Prebble's resignation, wished him well for the future, and appreciated his thanks for the "professional manner that the Judges, Members and staff have supported" him.

However, she also made what could be read as a criticism of his decision to resign less than five months after his appointment.

She said Prebble's resignation letter said his decision was made after reading the findings of the Tribunal's various decisions "in several reports published before his appointment as a member.

"I expect all members to undertake their own due diligence, to read reports, and understand the Vision, Mission and Purpose of the Waitangi Tribunal before accepting appointment," she wrote.

She said Prebble had referenced the Tribunal's interim report on the Treaty's principles published in August, and the review of the Tribunal's strategic direction - carried out by "an independent 13-member group, made up of claimants, claimant counsel, former Crown counsel, and Tribunal presiding officers and members".

She said she could not comment on the strategic direction as it was still just a draft shared with stakeholders for feedback, and was not yet finalised and presented to her as the chairperson, or to the Tribunal's governance group, "other than to acknowledge the transparent manner that members of the group have acted to secure the views of stakeholders".

Fox also noted the Tribunal was accountable to the High Court through the judicial review process, but neither the Crown nor claimants had sought to have its findings reviewed.

"The Waitangi Tribunal has up to 20 members. They are appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister for Māori

Development. Members come from all walks of life and are appointed for their expertise in the matters that are likely to come before them. About half the members are Māori and half are Pākehā.

"Judges of the Māori Land Court, while not members of the Waitangi Tribunal, can be appointed as a presiding officer for a Tribunal panel.

"A panel of three to seven members is appointed to carry out an inquiry. Each Tribunal panel must have at least one Māori member. All panels act independently."

Prebble calls for reform of Tribunal, says criticism did not factor into resignation

Prebble said his resignation letter called on the minister to follow through with the National-NZ First coalition commitment to review the Tribunal.

"I'm not in favor of abolishing it. I would upgrade it. I would appoint a High Court judge to head it.

"Appointing all the Māori Land Court judges, it was a mistake - I mean, they are very good at helping sort out iwi disputes, which take up a lot of the Tribunal's business, but then they're not trained in the constitution."

He was not certain if is was right to say the Tribunal was not fit for purpose, but "I don't think it's carrying out its purpose".

In a statement, Potaka said his focus was now on "moving swiftly to complete the appointment of a new member".

"The Waitangi Tribunal achieves its mahi thanks to the commitment of a diverse range of members providing extensive experience and knowledge. Mr Prebble has made the decision to resign of his own accord - I respect his choice and wish him well," he said.

Prebble's appointment was heavily criticised at the time - particularly by Labour's Willie Jackson who called the move "unbelievable", and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer who said his appointment and seven others at Māori academics' expense was a "whitewash".

Prebble said none of that criticism was the reason for his resignation.

"No, because most of the criticism is rubbish," he said.

He particularly rejected the suggestion he had been appointed as a supporter of David Seymour's Treaty Principles Bill.

"I have publicly said I'm not in favor of David Seymour reinventing the principles of the Treaty, even though the principles he's laid out are very good ones. But I don't support the Waitangi Tribunal inventing principles either.

"There's actually nothing wrong with the original Treaty. I mean, it's quite simple - with a preamble that extended the Crown's protection; Article 1 ceded sovereignty to the Crown; Article 2 guaranteed property rights; and Article Three extended citizenship. Perfectly good treaty. It doesn't need all these other principles."

He said the idea of partnership was a 20th-century invention - and as for the idea of equality "well, that's owes more to Marx than it does to anything that happened at Waitangi".

Ngarewa-Packer's comments were not worthy of a reply, he said.