Te Tiriti, Māori seats and immigration policy 2026

Strongly opposed, campaigning to define Treaty principles in law and to put the question to a referendum.

Committed to putting 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi at the heart of a modern Aotearoa founded on real partnership'.

Opposed to the commission: Chris Hipkins said Parliament 'has to be the final decision-making body; not a judicial body', and Labour signalled it would not support the proposal. It does support Treaty obligations in legislation, so this is opposition to the blocking power rather than to the Treaty's role.

Opposed to a constitutional veto body; has removed Treaty clauses from a range of legislation in government.

Strongly opposed, campaigning to disestablish bodies such as Auckland Council's Independent Māori Statutory Board.

Campaigning on an independent commission able to stop or suspend government and Cabinet decisions found to seriously breach Te Tiriti, alongside entrenching the Treaty in law and making Waitangi Tribunal findings binding on the Crown.

Supports putting questions of Māori-specific representation to a public vote, consistent with its equal-citizenship framing.

Opposed, argues a general referendum on Māori representation is inconsistent with Te Tiriti.

Opposed in direction: it is contesting all seven Māori electorates and treats their future as a matter for Māori. It has not published a specific 2026 commitment on a referendum, so this is inferred from that rather than a stated position.

Has not backed a referendum on the Māori seats, though it supports referenda on MMP and a four-year parliamentary term.

Campaigning for a referendum on the future of the Māori electorates.

Strongly opposed, actively campaigning to grow the Māori roll and expand Māori representation.

Wants a market-driven system where employers hire the workers they need, but pairs this with tighter English requirements, a welfare stand-down and an overstayer enforcement unit.

Opposed to cutting numbers, proposes granting residency to migrants on work visas and expanding humanitarian and family reunification pathways.

Committed to cutting net migration by roughly 20,000–30,000, partly by reducing international students in low-level courses.

Wants to increase international student numbers and fast-track residency for Green List occupations by removing the work-to-residence divide.

Announced a major immigration overhaul on 11 September: a referendum on capping resident visas at 20,000 a year, a 10-year welfare stand-down for all visa holders, citizenship qualifying periods doubled to 10 years, and birthright citizenship limited to children of citizens.

No headline net-migration target; frames immigration through Tiriti obligations and the rights of tangata whenua rather than numbers.

Explicit campaign policy, deport serious non-citizen offenders and create an overstayer enforcement unit, plus a five-year welfare exclusion for residency visa holders.

Opposed, campaigns for 'welcoming, safe and fair pathways' and would regularise the status of people on expired visas.

Mixed, supports existing deportation powers for serious offending, but opposes new enforcement units and welfare stand-downs for residents.

Supports deporting serious offenders, while prioritising attracting skilled migrants and students.

Would automatically deport non-citizens convicted of violent or sexual crimes, fraud, organised crime, money laundering or migrant exploitation, widening the criteria to any imprisonable offence. Overstayers would get a 24-month window to leave voluntarily, then face permanent deportation.

Opposed, argues enforcement-led immigration policy targets Pacific and migrant communities disproportionately.

Opposes state promotion of language by ethnicity and has campaigned on abolishing demographic ministries. It has not published a specific te reo policy for 2026, so this is inferred from that consistent position rather than a stated commitment.

Supports active promotion and protection of te reo Māori as a Tiriti obligation.

Supportive in direction: it would restore Treaty obligations removed by the coalition and opposed the English-first directive. It has not published a standalone te reo policy for 2026, so this is inferred rather than a stated commitment.

Mixed, supports te reo as an official language and its teaching in schools, but has directed agencies to use English-first names and communications.

Strongly opposed, has campaigned specifically on English-first names for government departments.

Core policy, normalise te reo across society, invest in community-led revitalisation, and hold the state accountable for language protection.