Ngā Toki Whakarururanga initially welcomed negotiations for a trade agreement with India in the expectation that there could be innovative, win-win opportunities for Māori and India’s Indigenous and local communities in areas of common interest.

We sought an active role in the negotiations, consistent with the Crown’s commitment in the Mediation Agreement to ensure “meaningful and genuine influence” in such negotiations.

Regrettably, despite the best endeavours of the officials and the Minister, India refused to allow the sharing of text on a confidential basis during negotiations, as has been agreed in other recent negotiations. The text was not made available until after it was signed.

Despite that obstacle, Ngā Toki Whakarururanga made a series of positive proposals that could have achieved a more Tiriti-compliant agreement. These were communicated to the Trade Minister and New Zealand’s lead negotiator.

The Crown committed to table, for the first time, a new best practice protection for Te Tiriti o Waitangi that was jointly developed with Ngā Toki Whakarururanga to replace the limited Treaty of Waitangi Exception in free trade agreements, which dates back to 2001.

Regrettably again, these constructive initiatives were not supported by either the Crown or India, and India has rejected the new Tiriti o Waitangi protection, leaving the agreement with the flawed and limited Treaty Exception that dates back to 2001.

Following the Crown’s announcement that negotiations were concluded, but without having access to the text, Ngā Toki Whakarururanga prepared an Interim Tiriti o Waitangi assessment that focused on the negotiation process and what was known on matters of critical importance to Māori responsibilities and rights and Crown obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The Crown then refused to include this assessment in the National Interest Analysis (NIA) that was tabled in Parliament with the final FTA text, as had been the practice in recent NIAs.

A full Tiriti o Waitangi Assessment, mandated under the Mediation Agreement, has been completed after the Agreement was signed and the final text became available.

This careful analysis of the agreement in terms of the four articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi shows the process and the substance falls far short of achieving the positive outcomes that should have been possible, and fails to meet the Crown’s Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.