TE RITO Foundation

TE RITO FOUNDATION – WAI 3300 DRAFT REPORT CONSTITUTIONAL INQUIRY💙🖤🤍🌿

The Waitangi Tribunal’s draft report for the Wai 3300 Constitutional Inquiry was released this week that includes the contributions made by Te Rito Foundation through Wai 2945. Our positions were grounded in the constitutional foundations of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga, which continue to guide how we strive for rightful authority, responsibility, and the wellbeing of our Pa Harakeke 🌿.

A key part of our evidence referenced the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in the United States. ICWA recognises the inherent tribal sovereignty of First Nations peoples and affirms their jurisdiction over the care and protection of their children. It demonstrates what it looks like when a state acknowledges Indigenous authority as a constitutional partner and not a political concession.

If Aotearoa adopted a similar approach, iwi would hold full jurisdiction to determine the welfare, care, and justice pathways for tamariki Māori. This is not preferential treatment or separatism. It is the constitutional effect of what Te Tiriti guaranteed Māori: authority over their own affairs, including their tamariki.

Tangata Tiriti retain their rights through the Crown and the protections of British citizenship guaranteed to them under the Treaty. Each group exercises authority in the sphere Te Tiriti intended.

The reason Māori do not currently exercise this jurisdiction is not because the right does not exist — it is because the Crown breached Article 2 by removing Māori authority over their own tamariki. The absence of Māori jurisdiction today reflects Crown breach, not Māori deficiency.

Such a model would shift child welfare from a state‑centred system to one grounded in rangatiratanga and relational governance.

This also requires us, as Māori, to maintain clarity and integrity in how we operate with one another. Constitutional authority is strengthened when our own systems and relationships reflect the values we expect to see in state structures. If we are to demonstrate examples for our tamariki, then how we regard each other, collaborate, and uphold mana within our own circles matters.

💙🖤🤍🌿OUR THREE KEY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WAI 3300 DRAFT REPORT — AND OUR WHY

1. Kāwanatanga as Delegated Authority
What we said:
Kāwanatanga, as understood in 1840, was a limited and delegated authority that did not override Māori authority or tino rangatiratanga.

Our why:
Te Rito’s kaupapa is grounded in the understanding that whānau, hapū, and iwi hold inherent authority over their own affairs. Recognising kāwanatanga as delegated aligns with Te Tiriti and He Whakaputanga and provides the constitutional basis for Māori‑led systems of care, protection, and wellbeing. This framing ensures our work is understood as constitutional, not political.

2. Governance vs Domination
What we said:
The Crown crosses the line from governance into domination when authorised structures deny whānau the measures of support they require, resulting in consequences that fall disproportionately on Māori families.

Our why:
Te Rito worked directly with whānau who experienced these consequences in their own lives and were denied appropriate support at the point of intervention. Highlighting this pattern is essential to explaining why kaupapa Māori, whānau‑led approaches are required. This is a constitutional assessment of how authority and responsibility are exercised, not a political critique.

3. A Sphere of Guaranteed Māori Authority
What we said:
Aotearoa requires constitutional provision for a sphere of guaranteed Māori authority, consistent with Article 2, where whānau within hapū hold primary decision‑making power over their own affairs.

Our why:
Te Rito has always operated on the principle that whānau are the primary decision‑makers in their own lives. This aligns directly with the constitutional intent of Te Tiriti and He Whakaputanga. Our position is jurisdictional, not political — it clarifies where authority should sit and how it should operate in a modern context.

💙🖤🤍🌿WHY THIS MATTERS FOR WHĀNAU MĀORI & TAMARIKI

Te Rito Foundation presented a lived‑experience‑based social impact model because parents knew what was needed and why. We did not seek to replicate models that had already failed our communities. Effective solutions require space for what works and the removal of what does not. When systems remain unchanged, it is often because the same approaches and the same decision‑makers remain in place, while those achieving results continue to operate outside the structures that should support them.

This is an important consideration as the country moves toward the 2026 election year.

💙🖤🤍🌿ORGANISATIONAL TRANSITION MERGER

As signalled earlier this year, Te Rito Foundation will be undertaking organisational changes by the end of this month. We are preparing to merge with a respected entity with extensive experience in:

- sexual abuse trauma
- rehabilitation
- professional services contracting
- kaupapa Māori practice
- and the development of mana wahine and Pa Harakeke‑centred capability

This transition will strengthen our delivery, expand our reach, and support the continued development of Māori‑led systems of care and protection. It reflects continuity of purpose rather than departure. Our kaupapa remains the same: strengthening whānau, upholding rangatiratanga, and contributing to constitutional integrity grounded in Te Tiriti and He Whakaputanga.

We also acknowledge the ongoing support of our Treaty legal team, Mahony Horner in Wellington, whose expertise continues to guide this next phase of our development as we transition from a company to a trust in May.

No reira e te iwi, whanau kotahi tatou o te mōtu; kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui. Ko te hapai kei muri, ko te hapai ki mua,

Raewyn Kapa
Director /Kai Rangahau /Kai Whakahaere
Te Rito Foundation

Mauri ora 💙🖤🤍🌿