SociaLink Tūhono Pāpori, the peak body for the community and social sector in the Western Bay of Plenty, has submitted strong opposition to the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill, urging Parliament to reject the Bill in full.

“This Bill is unnecessary, undermines democracy, erodes the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and prioritises individuals and property over the public good,” says Liz Davies, Chief Executive of SociaLink.

The Bill proposes introducing a set of principles to evaluate all new and existing legislation, with a heavy focus on protecting individual liberties and property rights. However, SociaLink argues this would undermine public good legislation and exclude core values central to Aotearoa’s identity — particularly the omission of any reference to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

“There are already strong democratic systems in place to evaluate legislation,” she adds.

“Rather than overlaying an ideologically driven framework, we should be improving mechanisms like select committees, public consultation, and Treaty-based processes that reflect the diverse values of our society.”

“If for no other reason, the huge amount of work — and therefore money and time — this Bill would create to require all new and existing legislation to be reviewed is enough reason to reject the Bill,” Davies continues.

“Creating so much unnecessary work would seem to contradict the intention of the Minister of Regulation to encourage greater efficiency.”

Davies also expressed concern over comments made by the Deputy Prime Minister, who has been publicly disparaging widely respected academics — including a New Zealander of the Year — because of differing views.

“I would expect any Minister of the Crown that disagrees with someone else's opinions

to respond respectfully and professionally, as required by the Cabinet Manual,” she said.

“The Bill fails to achieve what it purports to achieve and does not protect communities, collective rights and the environment. This Bill should not proceed,” concludes Davies.

Read SociaLink’s full submission and explore ongoing advocacy work on SociaLink Tūhono Pāpori’s website: www.socialink.org.nz

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