This Bill will cause a major constitutional change that could weaken our democracy and is difficult to undo. 

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It will create a set of principles based on ACT Party policy to judge every new and existing law against and these will sit above Te Tiriti and the Bill of Rights. The principles focus on:

• respecting the rule of law and protecting individual freedoms.

• taking of property rights, taxes, fees, and levies. 

• the  extent of the role of  the courts.

• who is consulted.

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A Regulatory Standards Board will be created

• A new Board, appointed by the Minister for Regulation (currently David Seymour), will oversee all laws to ensure they follow these principles.

• Ministries must submit reports on all their laws to the Board.

• The Board can investigate laws based on complaints, requests, or on its own initiative.

• The Board can make recommendations, but these won’t be binding.

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It’s what is left out that is telling - Te Tiriti, the environment, social good and responsibilities,  communities, women and minorities. Examples of what could happen are in our Frequently Asked Questions below.

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Unlike the previous versions of this Bill,  there is no longer a role  for independent Courts to ensure fair decisions are made. 

The Bill tries to fix a problem that doesn’t exist, and just makes our laws more complicated.   

New Zealand already has good regulations, ranked highly by the World Bank. Even the Ministry for Regulation—set up by the ACT Party—said this Bill isn’t necessary in its 2024 report. They say there are better and more effective ways to improve how we make laws. The Ministry has not been able to quantify the financial benefits of this Bill but estimates reviewing the existing laws alone will cost $187m.

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Our current system already includes strong checks and balances, like:

• Regulatory Impact Statements

• The Legislation Act 2019

• The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990

• Advice from the Legislation Design and Advisory Committee

• Parliamentary scrutiny (including the Regulations Review Committee)

• Oversight by the Ombudsman

• Common law and the Treaty of Waitangi

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Instead of creating more rules, we should focus on making the existing ones work even better.

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Sure, dealing with red tape can be frustrating, and it’s good to review laws and regulations.  However this Bill, driven by ACT’s ideology, goes too far and removes protection for the environment, communities, women and minorities including Māori. We’ve seen what happens when regulations are weakened or are just too weak—the leaky homes crisis which cost $11 billion in repairs, the collapse of the Christchurch CTV building in the Earthquakes with the loss of 115 lives, the Pike River disaster with the  loss of 29 lives, forestry and farming deaths, finance company failures losing $3 billion of 150,000 depositors’ savings, unsafe aged care, and risky adventure tourism like Whakaari/White Island costing 22 lives.

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Leaving out Te Tiriti from this Bill ignores the Crown’s constitutional obligations to Māori and is a fundamental shift in how we govern our country. It places this Bill ahead of Te Tiriti/The Treaty of Waitangi and our Bill of Rights Act.

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The Bill does not uphold Te Tiriti and therefore breaches the New Zealand Bill of Rights 1990, our obligation to the Vienna Convention on Treaties, and the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

The Waitangi Tribunal’s report found:

• The Government admitted it didn’t consult with Māori during policy development, breaching Treaty principles of partnership and active protection.

• The Bill would have major constitutional effects because it changes how Parliament makes laws, which directly affects Māori.

• The Tribunal recommended the Government stop pushing this Bill forward and instead engage properly with Māori. That means talking about whether the Bill is needed, how Māori rights and interests can be protected, and how the Bill’s proposed “rule of law” principles could affect efforts to achieve fairness and equity for Māori.

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Significantly, the Government’s current Legislative Guidelines state;

“The Treaty is of vital constitutional importance. The development process of policy and legislation, as well as the final product, should show appropriate respect for the spirit and principles of the Treaty.”

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Also, the Bill specifically excludes its application to existing and potential  Treaty settlements and Coastal Marine Area customary rights that are put into law. This  may be to give certainty to Māori, but it also prevents the review of the relevant laws to see if Māori should receive greater protection, rights or compensation - even though such an opportunity to challenge existing laws  will be available to everyone else including businesses.

The Bill’s focus on de-regulation and property rights will significantly reduce protections for our people and the environment

The Bill prioritises private property rights and corporate profits over care for people and the environment. We could be in a situation where a new law aiming to prevent young people vaping  or to protect water quality could be flagged for “imposing costs” on businesses. This Bill could mean that the Government or Council is forced to withdraw the new law and/or compensate the business for those costs, creating a disincentive for governments to pass laws creating protections. Businesses could demand taxpayer compensation whenever a new law affects their bottom line.

The narrow principles in the Bill aren’t consistent with the Governments current and much wider principles for preparing good regulation or with the wider  principles used by other democracies. 

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The Government is pushing it through under urgency with shortened consultation and truncated select committee processes in favour of a Coalition Agreement, going against best practices for making good laws and parliamentary democracy.  

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Unlike the Treaty Principles Bill, the Coalition Government has promised to pass the Regulatory Standards  as part of its’ Coalition Agreement with ACT. This means the Bill’s constitutional changes, especially between the Crown and Māori, aren’t just a future possibility—they’re happening soon, possibly by the end of 2025.  

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This Bill puts ACT Principles above our founding documents Te Tiriti and the Bill of Rights Act, 1990.  

A party with just 8.6% of the vote is trying to reshape our legal and constitutional system with its ideology,  without proper democratic support. This isn’t just a Māori issue—it affects everyone’s rights and could lead to worse outcomes for our society and environment.

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The Bill’s Principles pick and choose which rights matter, ignoring key ones like Te Tiriti o Waitangi and rights protected under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. It actually puts ACT principles above these foundational documents.  It excludes the environment, social good and minority rights and leans heavily towards ACT’s views. It prioritises individual rights over the public good, collective rights, Māori interests, the environment, minority rights, womens rights and fairness. And it does this while bypassing normal democratic processes. This Bill has big constitutional implications and should only go ahead if there’s broad, bipartisan backing.

It creates a mega-ministry that has controls over all other ministries and concentrates a huge amount of power in the un-elected Board and the Minister for Regulation. 

This Bill gives too much power to the Minister for Regulation (currently David Seymour) and a new Board they appoint. They would review all new and existing laws (unless exempted), and decide what other Ministries’ laws should include . 

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This Bill also replaces the role of the courts in key duties relating to regulatory/legislative oversight, placing it with the Board and Minister for Regulation. There’s a big risk the Board will be politically motivated, with no requirements for diverse representation, transparency, or oversight. It could review laws whenever it wants, with little accountability.

This Bill creates uncertainty for businesses because it lacks broad support and is too rigid. 

While it might seem like it would reduce red tape at first, it could actually cause long-term instability by weakening essential government regulations and results in the costs of failures falling on the tax payer.

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The Bill could hurt the regulation of things like competition, consumer protection, and monopolies, and it ignores New Zealand’s international obligations. It might also make it harder for the government to collect revenue and provide services and infrastructure that we all rely on.