96 Maranga Mai! The Waitangi Tribunal and Treaty Settlements policy The Treaty of Waitangi Act (1975) established the Waitangi Tribunal. At first, the Tribunal could only hear claims on contemporary issues. This changed in 1985 when the Tribunal was granted retrospective powers to investigate historical breaches from the date of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Tribunal’s membership was increased to seven, and from the late 1980s acquired a dedicated research and administrative staff (Waitangi Tribunal, 2021, p. 5). The Crown has retained full control over the treaty settlement process and the Tribunal’s findings are not binding on the government (Came, 2012). The Treaty settlements policy and process was unilaterally imposed on tangata whenua, despite their vehement opposition. The result has been unjust settlements which have returned less than one per cent of whenua Māori lands, and more importantly, have not substantially increased the overall proportion of Māori owned land which still hovers around five percent. The government could consider strengthening the levers to ensure that the recommendations of the Waitangi Tribunal to the Crown and local government are taken seriously and actioned. The Tribunal should also be enabled to investigate claims on private land, where such land is under the control of the Crown and Local Government, and which is being ‘freed up’ for sale and development. Te Kāhui Tika Tangata | the Human Rights Commission Te Kāhui Tika Tangata | the Human Rights Commission (the Commission) was established under the Human Rights Commission Act 1977 and operates under the Human Rights Act 1993, which provides better protection of human rights in New Zealand in general accordance with United Nations Covenants or Conventions on Human Rights. The Commission can receive complaints of discrimination and provide dispute resolution services. The Commission has an ‘A’ status accreditation enabling it to highlight human rights issues of concern, and hold the government accountable at the United Nations Human Rights Council and human rights treaty bodies. The Human Rights Amendment Act (2001) saw the role of the Race Relations Conciliator replaced by the establishment of a new Race Relations Commissioner, one of four full-time lead Commissioners with the Commission. Concern was expressed at the time that the merger would dilute the race relations role. The 2001 Amendment Act provided for the Commission to “promote ... a better understanding of the human rights dimensions of the Treaty of Waitangi” and for Commissioners to have knowledge or experience in the Treaty of Waitangi and rights of Indigenous peoples. These are the only references to the Treaty in the legislation. The overall effect of the 2001 changes and subsequent amendments, that have limited the number of Commissioners, has been to shift resources away from the Race Relations and other portfolios towards other human rights areas. In 2015, the Commission committed to becoming a Tiriti-based organisation, with strong progress made particularly over the past two years of the journey. The Commission acknowledges that changes to the Human Rights Act are needed to enable the Commission to give full effect to becoming a Tiritibased Commission. There has been no Indigenous Rights Commissioner since 2017. The Chief Commissioner has since 2019, led efforts to secure this appointment. This report recommends government urgently appoint a full time, permanent Indigenous Rights Commissioner, filling the current Commissioner vacancy, and thereby strengthening the capacity of the Commission to fulfil its strategic role to uphold domestic and international human rights, and honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the human and Indigenous rights of tangata whenua Māori. The establishment of an Indigenous Rights Commission is also recommended for exploration by the government, with a key function of advancing the NAPAR; developing and delivering a decolonisation and anti-racism strategy to assist the further