Submissions by the Commission
Waitangi Tribunal Climate Change Priority Inquiry (Wai 3325): Evidence from the Commission
Our responses to a request from the Waitangi Tribunal to assist it in its kaupapa priority inquiry into climate change.
21 May 2026
About these documents
In May 2026, we provided information to the Waitangi Tribunal to assist it in its kaupapa priority inquiry into climate change (Wai 3325).
This inquiry is focused on the impacts of climate change on Māori and the Crown’s response; the relevant principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi the Crown should consider when addressing the impacts of climate change on Māori, whether the Crown has met its obligations under te Tiriti / the Treaty, and what recommendations the Tribunal should make in terms of how the Crown should conduct itself consistently with principles of te Tiriti / the Treaty when forming future climate change policies.
We recognise the importance of the Tribunal and this inquiry. We offered to assist the Tribunal with its inquiry if there was relevant information we hold that the Crown or the claimants were not in a position to provide.
The Tribunal invited the Commission to assist it in this inquiry by assessing certain questions.
Our responses are below, along with other information we provided that we thought might be useful to the inquiry.
For more information about our support for this inquiry, see Waitangi Tribunal Climate Change Priority Inquiry (Wai 3325): Request for evidence from the Commission