conversation about the place of the Treaty in our constitution. 42. In its twenty-first to twenty-second periodic reports under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination the Government stated that “[t]he Government welcomed the Panel’s report, reflecting the views of over 5,000 New Zealanders and organisations. It will prove a valuable resource for New Zealanders now and in the future.”17 However, to date no concrete steps have been taken by the Government to implement the Panel’s recommendations. 43. Alongside the work of the Constitutional Advisory Panel, an independent, Māori-led initiative has also undertaken wide-ranging consultation and issued its own report. The report of Matike Mai Aotearoa18 also recommended further public conversations, and proposed for discussion on a range of constitutional models which reflect and uphold the Treaty of Waitangi and indigenous rights. 44. More recently, in 2016 proposed Government reforms to the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act, the statute that governs Māori land, were found by the Waitangi Tribunal to have an insufficient mandate from Māori. The Tribunal considered that if the reforms were enacted they would accordingly breach the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi19. 45. Recommendation 4: That the Committee urges New Zealand Government to: (a) Urgently progress the recommendations of the Constitutional Advisory Panel regarding the role of the Treaty within New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements, in partnership with Māori. (b) Ensure that its public policy and legislative initiatives comply with the participation principle of Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi. Progress in settling historic breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi 46. Between January 2012 and March 2017, 49 Bills have been passed by Parliament giving effect to Treaty settlements.20 As Māori and the Crown continue to make 17 New Zealand’s twenty-first to twenty-second periodic reports under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Submitted December 2015) at [45]. 18 Matike Mai Aotearoa, (2016), He Whakaaro Here Whakaumu mo Aotearoa: Final report of Matike Mai Aotearoa – the Independent Working Group on Constitutional Transformation. Accessible at: http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/MatikeMaiAotearoaReport.pdf. 19 Waitangi Tribunal, He Karo Whenua Ka Rokohanga: Report on Claims about the reform of the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993, WAI 2478, accessed www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz, at p 355, , 20 https://www.govt.nz/assets/Documents/OTS/Quarterly-report-to-31-Mar-2017.pdf 11