In addition to our individual research, Te Wai Ariki contributes actively in the development of law policy on the rights of Indigenous peoples. We convene wānanga|workshops on cutting-edge legal issues, make submissions to legislative committees, provide expert evidence in the Waitangi Tribunal, contribute to New Zealand Law Commission projects and provide research-based analysis to Māori litigants in higher-level courts.

Drawing on decades of experience working internationally, we have a particular speciality in advising and supporting Māori whānau, hāpū and iwi in claims before United Nations tribunals and procedures, and in multi-lateral Indigenous peoples-focused fora. We have also been involved in and supported a number of visits from UN human rights bodies focused on evaluating Aotearoa New Zealand’s compliance with human rights. Additionally, we have provided advice and submitted papers to UN bodies to contribute to the progressive evolution of international law and Indigenous peoples.

We have advised, amongst others, the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the New Zealand Māori Council, the Pou Tikanga of the National Iwi Chairs Forum, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, the Law Commission, advocates for the return of Ihumātao, Wakatū Incorporation as well as NGOs and coalitions working for the rights of the child.

Te Wai Ariki regularly hosts wānanga on important, topical issues bringing together academics, iwi leaders, activists, affected communities, lawyers, judges, students, non-governmental organisations and other interested people. 

Our academics have been called upon to provide evidence in a number of inquiries including on Māori representation, on Māori self-determination to determine policy on Māori representative structures and on the authority and prestige of Māori women.

We have also provided training to Waitangi Tribunal members and Māori Land Court judges on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and UN mechanisms that monitor Aotearoa|New Zealand’s human rights compliance.

Te Wai Ariki members have been appointed to various working groups and steering groups, including by Cabinet, to contribute to the development of policy and law, especially with regard to New Zealand’s international human rights obligations. For example: Claire and Tracey worked on the development of a national plan of action to realise New Zealand’s obligations under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Claire chaired the working group that wrote He Puapua, a guide for government on how it might achieve the rights of the UN Declaration.

Te Wai Ariki has made submissions to select committees and regularly contributed to law reform projects led by the New Zealand Law Commission, especially on its study on tikanga Māori and state law and on class actions.

Te Wai Ariki has on occasion supported litigation on Māori rights under te Tiriti, human rights and international law. Of note, we were part of the team that presented Wakatu Incorporation’s arguments to the Supreme Court in Proprietors of Wakatū v Attorney-General [2017] NZSC 17, [2017] 1 NZLR 423 [Wakatū SC decision], and now provide assistance to Wairarapa Moana in its claim against the Crown for Parliament’s override of its rights to lands, territories and resources.

This paper presents Te Puna Rangahau o te Wai Ariki's submission regarding New Zealand's fifth periodic report on implementing the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), critically analyzing the insufficient constitutional protections of these rights with particular focus on impacts for Māori. Te Wai Ariki argues that despite ratifying international human rights treaties, New Zealand's domestic incorporation remains weak, as ICESCR rights lack constitutional entrenchment and cannot be enforced when Parliament overrides them. The submission highlights specific concerns regarding Māori rights to self-determination, equitable working conditions, healthcare, and housing, while criticizing the government's misrepresentation of its actions regarding Te Tiriti o Waitangi and recommending full constitutional incorporation of ICESCR rights to address the disproportionate vulnerability of Māori.

This submission from Te Puna Rangahau o te Wai Ariki strongly opposes the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, arguing that it would further widen the gap between New Zealand and comparable jurisdictions like the USA and Canada in protecting Indigenous treaty rights. While both the USA and Canada constitutionally protect treaties with Indigenous peoples and recognize aspects of Indigenous sovereignty, New Zealand lacks similar protections for te Tiriti o Waitangi. The submission contends that the Bill would exacerbate this disparity by subjecting Indigenous rights to Parliament's majoritarian interpretation, violating the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and ignoring recommendations from the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review that New Zealand should implement constitutional processes in consultation and agreement with Māori.