In June 2025 I made a sumbission against the Regulatory Standards Bill. I’m sharing that submission below, for the record, since this blog site is where I tend to store the things I’ve written.
Tēnā koutou, my name is Tracey Bridges and I’m writing to oppose this Bill.
I’m writing as a private citizen, but for context I’m a professional director serving on a range of Boards, primarily in the local government and not for profit space. Having worked for nearly three decades as a business owner and in the marketing and public relations fields, I now spend a significant chunk of my time volunteering as an adult literacy tutor, in prison and in the community.
We have an obligation and opportunity to honour Te Tiriti, not erase it
I identify myself as Tangata Tiriti – I understand my place in New Zealand as made special and distinct by the relationship that Pākehā and other tangata tiriti have with tangata whenua.
The Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document of our nation, that establishes our place here. It provides a basis for fair and equal partnership between tangata whenua and tangata tiriti. If the Treaty had been honoured through its history we would be a very different – and far richer – nation than the one we are today. The Treaty has not been honoured, but the solution to the problem that presents is not to reject and turn away from it – but to redouble our efforts to honour it.
I do not accept the arguments that have been made, that modern moves to honour the Treaty favour one group of New Zealanders over another. In fact, New Zealand history shows that in failing to honour the Treaty, we have consistently created laws and systems that have favoured the colonists and their descendants over indigenous people. If the Treaty had been honoured since its inception, one group of New Zealanders would not have been favoured over another, and we would not have – as we do now – a nation where Māori are over represented in all of the most troubling statistics.
So, my starting point is a belief in the foundation role of Te Tiriti in New Zealand’s laws and society, and in the opportunity that exists for us as a nation to honour it, and in doing so, to create a more equitable and just society.
I therefore cannot support a piece of legislation that erases Te Tiriti, as the Regulatory Standards Bill proposes to do.
The principles in the Bill have already been rejected by New Zealanders
We have also seen that overwhelmingly New Zealanders have rejected the Treaty Principles Bill, and the principles that were embedded in that Bill. It should therefore stand to reason that those principles should not be carried through to a new piece of legislation, particularly a piece that will have such significant and far reaching impact as the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill.
The Bill breaches The Treaty
The Bill itself (like the Treaty Principles Bill) is a breach of Te Tiriti.
The Waitangi Tribunal has found that the Crown breached the Te Tiriti principles of Partnership and Active Protection by failing to meaningfully consult with Māori on this Bill.
For these reasons I recommend that this Bill should be withdrawn.
Creating Good Change 