The Hillary Institute and Edmund Hillary Fellowship Submission on the Treaty Principles Bill
7 January 2025
Our Organisation - the Hillary Institute & Edmund Hillary Fellowship
The Hillary Institute of International Leadership is a registered charity, founded in 2007 with Sir Edmund Hillary. Its purpose is to recognise and celebrate transformative global leaders (Hillary Laureates) who embody the humanitarian commitment of Sir Edmund Hillary. Today there are eleven Hillary Laureates who are established social or environmental justice leaders in their field.
The Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Hillary Institute, and is a limited liability company with charitable status. EHF was set up in 2016 as an innovative talent attraction pilot with the New Zealand Government in partnership with Immigration NZ: over 500 international and New Zealand Fellows have been a part of the programme over the past seven years. The Fellowship is made up of exceptional global entrepreneurs, investors and change-makers spanning diverse areas from technology, to climate, to social impact. EHF’s purpose is to partner with Aotearoa NZ to find and build solutions to our toughest challenges.
We note that this submission aligns to and supports a collective submission from Edmund Hillary Fellows in opposition to the Bill.
Our Position - We oppose the Bill
We oppose the Treaty Principles Bill in its entirety. If enacted - or even progressed - we believe this Bill would be a major regression for Aotearoa NZ.
This Bill risks undermining the fundamental principles that have guided Aotearoa NZ's progress toward honouring Te Tiriti as the founding document of Aotearoa NZ. It will damage relationships with tangata whenua, erode trust, and weaken Aotearoa NZ's global reputation as a leader in indigenous rights and bi-cultural relationships.
Given EHF’s purpose and experience, it is New Zealand’s global reputation we seek to specifically address. From an international perspective, Aotearoa’s commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a globally recognised model for how nations can honour their obligations to indigenous peoples. Weakening the articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi will diminish New Zealand’s reputation as a leader in equity, justice, and reconciliation.
The steps that New Zealand has taken to redress historic injustices through the Waitangi Tribunal, to recognise indigenous rights and honour partnership with tangata whenua, is absolutely central to Aotearoa NZ’s values and attractiveness as a country ‘where talent wants to live’ (Sir Paul Callaghan). During EHF’s seven years supporting world-leading entrepreneurs, innovators and investors to create impact with and for Aotearoa NZ, a consistent message is that honouring Te Tiriti, partnering with tangata whenua and having the potential to address inequity, is what sets us apart. See Fellows’ comments below.
“It [Te Tiriti] increased my interest in moving to this country!”
“The bi-cultural nature of NZ today is more than mere ‘window dressing’ as it often appears to be in other places,
and there are powerful ideas around, e.g., one's relationship to one's community, family, to mother nature, etc. that
must be considered deeply.”
Therefore this bill signals a step away from the values that make New Zealand a beacon of progress on the world stage.
Our submission therefore focuses on the significance of Te Tiriti to our purpose and values, our Fellows and our relationships.
Honoring Te Tiriti o Waitangi & Tangata Whenua
The Hillary Institute and Edmund Hillary Fellowship recognise Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document for Aotearoa New Zealand, and affirm the fundamental significance of Te Tiriti to our own organisation's core values and mission. Honouring Te Tiriti is central to EHF’s purpose and constitution and is reinforced in our kawa and tikanga (protocols).
Te Tiriti is emblematic of how we stand in partnership with tangata whenua, specifically EHF’s iwi partners Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui. We have been honoured to have Te Āti Awa welcome Fellows to Aotearoa and are humbled by their manaakitanga, generosity of knowledge and gracious leadership. Te Tiriti has informed who we are, how we build relationships and engage, which is also grounded with the values of Sir Edmund Hillary, whose name we carry proudly.
Te Tiriti today represents a powerful learning opportunity
EHF delivers multi-day immersive welcome experiences for Fellows (mostly migrants) to Aotearoa. Connecting with mana whenua, learning about te ao Māori, Te Tiriti and bi-culturalism has been an intentional and important part of Fellows’ induction into Aotearoa NZ. For many NZ-born Fellows, it is their first insight into the contents of te tiriti and our history. For international Fellows, it has built a deep connection into Aotearoa NZ and what we stand for as a nation.
From four EHF Welcome Experiences in 2022 to 2023, 90% of Fellows responding to a survey reported that learning about Te Tiriti had increased or strongly increased their understanding of Aotearoa as a bi-cultural nation. Qualitatively many described it as ‘transformative’, ‘reshaping their thinking of the world’ and of profound importance as they consider their own country’s history and relationship with indigenous peoples.
Learning about Te Tiriti has influenced how high-impact migrants think and engage
Fellows have also said that the process of learning about Te Tiriti and te ao Māori has deepened their engagement with this country, and helped them unlock a completely different perspective about a range of concepts including leadership, guardianship and multi-generational action. In 2023/23 the degree to which Te Tiriti and understanding bi-culturalism in Aotearoa NZ highly influenced Fellows’ work lifted to 50% (up from 29% the previous year).
“This understanding will impact my engagement significantly, not only to respect the Treaty but out of a deep
interest to work with the Maori, to support them as a culture, and benefit from their wisdom to guide our [work]
creations.”
“I will continue to prioritise being a Treaty Partner in all of my engagements in Aotearoa NZ and allow that same
mentality to infuse into my work globally.”
“My understanding of Aoterora NZ as a bi-cultural nation with a Treaty Partnership will push me to seek out Māori
entrepreneurs and activists to see how I can support and amplify their work. It will push me to pause and research
before building new things. It will encourage me to build things through bi-cultural collaboration.”
“It has helped me understand who to ask which questions and how to be in the right relationship with the bicultural
fabric of this country.”
In Conclusion
As values-based organisations, the Hillary Institute and EHF is committed to honouring Te Tiriti and working in partnership with tangata whenua. It is central to our purpose and how we attract, select and induct high impact migrants to Aotearoa NZ. For our NZ-based Fellows, this is a living partnership between Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti, that underpins social cohesion, cultural respect and equitable progress. For our global migrant community, it is a compelling part of Aotearoa’s unique global identity and values, and is central to our culture of collaboration and inclusivity in innovation.
We there reaffirm the values of partnership, participation and protection that guides our mahi (work) and our global and local network of Fellows. We stand for tolerance, inclusion and a commitment to honouring the intent and expectations of our constitutional relationships, and the hope that this provides for the future of Aotearoa.
Our Recommendation
For these reasons, we oppose the Treaty Principles Bill, and believe this attempt to redefine the Treaty principles is detrimental to tangata whenua and tangata tiriti, and will undermine the progress Aotearoa has made to build a strong, bi-cultural nation supporting a diverse multi-cultural society. It will also damage our global reputation as a progressive place to visit, work and live.
Te Tiriti is a partnership, and any unilateral attempt by the Crown to redefine its principles is a fundamental violation of this founding constitutional agreement. Therefore, it is our recommendation that the Bill not proceed further.