“What creates instability is a government that routinely legislates over court decisions it dislikes and uses urgency to an excessive extent as a means of avoiding public input and scrutiny,” says Te Hunga Rōia Māori in response to Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who recently told a gathering of lawyers that the government is prepared to legislate over top of court judgments. (Photo: RNZ, Mark Papalii)
Te Hunga Rōia Māori (the Māori Law Society) has expressed concern at reported comments by justice minister Paul Goldsmith that tikanga Māori introduces unpredictability into the law, and could deter investment.
Goldsmith made his remarks at a Law Association event, where he warned against a “bespoke” New Zealand legal system. He said the government is willing to overwrite judicial decisions where tikanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations are engaged.
In comments reported by Law News, he stated: “The government is absolutely prepared to legislate over the top of judgments, if we need to – and we have, and we will – and there are things that we’re working our way through.”
Te Hunga Rōia Māori strongly disagrees — the following is their response.
Tikanga Māori is not a bolt-on that makes our law “bespoke” in a negative sense. It is the first law of Aotearoa and has been recognised for generations in statutes, court decisions, and Treaty jurisprudence.
All legal systems are, by definition, shaped by their own histories and values. The common law itself is “bespoke” to the communities that develop it. For New Zealand, that means a legal system grounded in both tikanga Māori and the common law tradition. Far from being a weakness, this is a source of strength and legitimacy.
The implication that tikanga is inherently unpredictable is wrong. Tikanga can be and is discerned by the courts, guided by a substantial body of precedent, evidence, and resources. Judicial recognition of tikanga has been careful, principled, and incremental. It is anchored in the same legal standards of fairness, reasonableness, good faith, and proportionality that underpin all judicial reasoning.
Recognition of tikanga does not weaken legal rigour but strengthens it. Indeed, a number of recent senior court decisions underscore the limitations of tikanga in both civil and criminal contexts.
More disturbing is that the remarks come from the Minister of Justice. It is inappropriate for a member of the executive to threaten imminent legislative repeal in the event that particular judicial reasoning is deployed.
Such statements risk eroding public confidence in the courts and amount to a veiled threat to judicial independence — a far greater danger to the rule of law than the incorporation of tikanga.
Also of concern is the minister’s reliance on the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) legislation as an example. It is misleading to claim that the proposed amendments are about clarification and certainty. In reality, they represent an erosion of long-held rights that Māori have fought for across generations.
Framing these amendments as part of any quest for “certainty” misrepresents their actual purpose and diverts attention from the ongoing denial of Māori property rights recognised at law.
What creates instability is a government that routinely legislates over court decisions it dislikes and uses urgency to an excessive extent as a means of avoiding public input and scrutiny. The recent and abrupt changes to pay equity laws is one example. Such actions undermine the separation of powers, erode confidence in the rule of law, and generate far greater unpredictability for all, including investors.
International experience confirms this. Canada incorporates First Nations rights into their written constitution; Australia recognises Aboriginal customary law in land contexts; South Africa protects customary law in its Constitution. None of these countries have seen investment dry up as a result.
Likewise, there is no evidence that the application of tikanga is stifling investment in Aotearoa. On the contrary, Māori have a long and proven record of co-investing with international partners, from the Sealord fisheries settlement to the recently announced $1 billion partnership between Waikato-Tainui and Brookfield. Māori entities are themselves a source of foreign direct investment — one of the cornerstones of the government’s own economic recovery strategy.
Moreover, the values of Māori organisations typically align well with those of international business partners, particularly from Asia, which the government has identified as a priority region for investment growth.
Te Hunga Rōia Māori rejects the suggestion that economic certainty would be maximised by excluding tikanga from our legal system. Such comments are assimilationist and rest on the discredited assumption that monoculturalism is the path to prosperity.
We instead affirm that recognising tikanga strengthens our legal system, enriches our jurisprudence, and reflects the Treaty partnership at the heart of Aotearoa.
In short, the recognition of tikanga strengthens the rule of law. By contrast, rhetoric from the executive that disparages judicial engagement with tikanga undermines the separation of powers at the core of our constitutional order.
Respect for the courts, including their role in developing and applying the law, is essential to both investor confidence and public trust.
Tai Ahu of Waikato, Ngāti Kahu (Te Paatu) whakapapa, and Natalie Coates (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Tūhourangi, Tūhoe, Te Whānau a Apanui) are the current co-presidents of Te Hunga Roia Māori, the Māori Law Society.
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A bespoke legal system to me is if not the definition of sovereignty an absolutely prerequisite for sovereignty. I can see how we can have a bespoke legal system that stops well short of tino rangatiratanga but can’t conceive of sovereignty without a bespoke legal system or systems.
You know, I’ve been reflecting a lot on what’s happening in Aotearoa right now, and it’s genuinely unsettling. The government’s newsagents are distracting us with the latest updates from the opposition parties; let’s focus on those in power.
The government under Luxon, with Goldsmith, Collins, Peters, and ACT, aren’t just making minor legal changes. They are dismantling the very foundations that legitimise their authority to govern. Their actions aren’t about clarity or efficiency; they’re about control. They weaken Māori sovereignty with weekly updates to silence indigenous laws and reshape our country to serve foreign interests. This goes beyond legal reform; it signifies the loss of constitutional and sovereign independence. And it’s not only happening here.
We aren’t blind; we see New Zealand aligning itself with the U. S. and Israeli agendas, dismissing the rights of other indigenous peoples like Palestinians who want to stay in their homeland under a two-state solution. The reluctance to rebuild Palestine into a viable, sovereign economy reveals a deeper truth: that restoring indigenous autonomy threatens the global political systems built on displacement, theft, and dominance. At home, extreme poverty caused by job losses, benefit cuts, and homelessness isn’t accidental. It’s a political tactic used to distract, suppress resistance, and justify policies that benefit global powers rather than local justice.
What I’m saying is, these actions aren’t about protecting our nation during times of peace. They’re about maintaining Western dominance as BRICS and other multipolar alliances gain global economic traction. The FBI’s presence in Wellington. Collins’ calls to boost the military budget and develop Kiwi-made weapons instead of Kiwi-made homes signal a shift towards militarisation and heightened Pacific surveillance.
I see a coordinated strategy: dismantling indigenous law, embedding foreign enforcement, militarising our economy, and distracting the public with urgency and fear. If we don’t act now to safeguard the Waitangi Tribunal, uphold tikanga, and expose their agenda, we risk losing the essence of who we are- Aotearoa. Tikanga itself isn’t the problem, and poverty isn’t a justification for the coalition’s poor economic judgment in joining the arms race…