Gathering submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill

Key information and resources for gathering submissions in your faith community.

The government has introduced the Treaty Principles Bill and is currently inviting public submissions. This Bill would undermine Māori rights under Te Tiriti and destabilise our relationships even further. As followers of Jesus from across Aotearoa New Zealand we express our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and our concern at the Treaty Principles Bill.


These submission resources have been prepared to make the process simple for you to help your faith community have their say.

How to gather submissions in your faith community.

Even if the bill never becomes law, the conversations about it will influence how many people view the Treaty. You can help to ensure the conversation is truthful and compassionate.

Common Grace Aotearoa invites you to gather with your faith community or with a group of friends to learn what the bill proposes, why many people are deeply concerned, and how you can have your say. We'll provide all the resources you need to speak up with a gracious and prophetic voice to defend the integrity of Te Tiriti.

There are two options available to do this:

OPTION 1: Run a 90-minute workshop. Gather to watch a video that includes:

  • A refresher on what Te Tiriti o Waitangi says

  • An introduction to 'Treaty Principles'

  • An outline of what the Treaty Principles Bill proposes and how we believe it does not align with Te Tiriti

  • How to have your say

  • Time for people to write their own submission.

OPTION 2: Gather submissions at a Sunday service: Use our 5-minute video and submission guide, and invite your faith community to make a submission during or after a Sunday service.

  • We’re delighted you’ve chosen to host this workshop in your church or small group. We hope it can be a rich time of learning and taking action together.

    1. Choose a date and venue. Our recommended time period is between 21 November and 14 December. Submissions are open until 7 January, but it will be much harder to mobilise people during the Christmas and holiday season. The venue can be anywhere accessible with a screen and good internet access, as the video will be on a website. (If internet coverage may be a barrier, you can download the video in advance. Downloading instructions under the video.) Hosting could be as simple as having a few friends gathered around a laptop in your home. Or you could host in your church, and project the videos onto a screen so a large group can watch together.  

    2. Start advertising and inviting people along using the video trailer here to get your community excited about having their say! You may like to play the video in church on the Sunday before your workshop. When advertising, it’s helpful to let people know to bring a device to write a submission on if they can, or if they prefer to handwrite, to bring paper and pens. Encourage folks to download and/or print the participant booklet to bring along.

    3. Watch this video about creating a safe workshop space or read the transcript here. This video was created for an earlier workshop series ‘Belonging in this Land’ but the tips it provides still apply for this workshop on the Treaty Principles Bill.

    4. Print materials: You will need to print the host’s guide. We have also prepared a participant booklet for everyone taking part in your workshop, which contains discussion questions, a physical submission form and a summary of the Treaty Principles Bill. Download the Participant’s Guide here or share the link (bit.ly/treatyactionbooklet) to people who attend. If in your session, participants have a device, they can make their submission online at commongrace.nz/treatyaction. Catholic audiences may also like to print this booklet ‘The Catholic Church and the Te Tiriti o Waitangi’, by Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand.

    5. Set up your venue and open the video. In your venue, set up a screen linked to a computer or TV with an internet connection. Check the wifi is working. Open the webpage to the workshop video. Check the audio is working and connected to a speaker. (No internet in your venue? See downloading instructions underneath the video.) Set up any food or drink you are providing. Consider how you will run the discussions - will you break into smaller groups? If so, set up space to do that.

    6. During your session: Welcome people warmly. We recommend allowing 15-30 minutes before you begin for a cup of tea, and a chance for everyone to introduce themselves to each other. When you are ready to begin, show the videos and facilitate discussion. Discussion times, and time to write a submission, are factored into the video, which is approximately 75 minutes in length.

    7. Gathering up submissions. Before people leave, make sure they have completed in legible text their full name, contact email and contact phone in their hardcopy submission, and that they have handed it to you to post. If people prefer to finish their submission in their own time, the participant booklet has details of how.

    8. Posting in submissions. For hardcopy submissions, make sure they each include a cover page with the name and email of the submitter clearly legible. Our paper template keeps personal details separate from the main part of the submission, as all submissions (minus contact details) are published on the Parliament website. Make sure submissions are together in the right order, before gathering them up and posting them to the following address by 31 December (to ensure they are received by the submission closing date of 07 January). No postage stamp is required:

    Freepost Parliament
    Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill
    Committee Secretariat
    Justice Committee
    Parliament Buildings
    Wellington

    • Get the full briefing - Watch our briefing recording explaining the key steps to gathering submissions - CLICK HERE

    • Give notice: Get a notice put into your church service about why and when you'll be gathering submissions, and play this trailer to get people excited about doing so.

    • Prepare submission materials and stationery:

    • Prepare the tech required to show the 5 minute explainer from Church leaders.

    • Help people navigate the resources to write their submissions - during morning tea or a special slot in the service, give people time to write their submissions.

    • Gather up and post in submissions - For hardcopy submissions, make sure they each include a cover page with the name and email of the submitter clearly legible. Our paper template keeps personal details separate from the main part of the submission, as all submissions (minus contact details) are published on the Parliament website. Make sure submissions are together in the right order, before gathering them up and posting them to the following address by 31 December (to ensure they are received by the submission closing date of 07 January). No postage stamp is required:

    Freepost Parliament
    Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill
    Committee Secretariat
    Justice Committee
    Parliament Buildings
    Wellington

  • It’s important that submissions are delivered in the required format and the timeframe (by 11.59pm on 7 January 2025) so that they are properly considered by the Committee.

    There are three ways to make a submission:

    1. Online submission using the Common Grace quick submit form

    2. Online submission straight to Parliament website, drawing on our submission guide. View our submission guide here

    3. Hardcopy submissions sent in by post.

    Hardcopy submissions

    It is your role as host to gather up any hardcopy submissions and send them on in the post. These can be collated in one package.

    • For hardcopy submissions, make sure they each include a cover page with the name and email of the submitter clearly legible.

    • Our paper template keeps personal details separate from the main part of the submission, as all submissions (minus contact details) are published on the Parliament website

    • Make sure submissions are together in the right order, before gathering them up and posting them to the following address by 31 December (so that it arrives by the submission closing date of 07 January):

    Freepost Parliament
    Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill
    Committee Secretariat
    Justice Committee
    Parliament Buildings
    Wellington


    Kids’ submissions

    • There is no minimum age requirement to making a written submission. This kids’ form can be used by children and young people to write (or draw) a submission. We encourage an adult to ensure that the name and a contact email is legibly written on the cover page of each child’s submission.

  • For hosting the 90-minute workshop:

    For gathering submissions using the 5-minute video:

    Extra resources:

    • In-depth Common Grace submission guide CLICK HERE

    • 8 minute video on the Treaty Principles Bill from Dr Carwyn Jones CLICK HERE

Video resources:

‘Stand up for Te Tiriti: Christian Perspectives on the Treaty Principles Bill’ - a 90 minute video workshop

3 minute trailer for advertising the ‘Stand up for Te Tiriti: Christian Perspectives on the Treaty Principles Bill’ workshop

5 minute video to play on a Sunday service before gathering submissions: ‘An invitation from Church leaders to have your say on the Treaty Principles Bill.’

8 minute explainer on the Treaty Principles Bill from Dr Carwyn Jones, Head Lecturer for Māori Laws and Philosophy at Te Wānanga o Raukawa (contained within the 90 minute video workshop).