The Waitangi Tribunal is set to undergo some changes if the Coalition Government is re-elected.
National Leader Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking on the Leaders Breakfast the tribunal is a longstanding feature of New Zealand's Government, but the country needs to ask the question of what its role is.
“[It] could be no role, could be evolved role, adjusted role," he said.
He defended his government’s record on Māori and Treaty issues, saying it had sorted through things like disbanding the Māori Health Authority, ending co-governance of public services, and putting English into Government agency departments.
Of the tribunal, Luxon said there is "certainly going to be a plan to change it in some form or another" if re-elected.
"Whether it's gone could be an option," he said.
Both ACT and NZ First want to disband the tribunal once all remaining historical Treaty claims are settled, but Luxon said the parties have not yet had a conversation with National over a plan.
"I appreciate those parties may have their views about that, what we all agreed is that there's got to be a question about what the role is, actually to be questioning the role is something we're all committed around doing."
"It could be that it gets disbanded, it could be that actually there's a different orientation or a different role for it, I don't know, but I want to look at that and go through that sensibly," he said.
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