The Sunday Long Read - The Rule Of Law and what you can do to prevent ACT from destroying it.

15/6/2025

We live in worrying times. Long accepted laws, both at home and abroad, seem to be up for grabs - a trend led by President Donald Trump, who seems determined to test domestic and international laws to the limit.

His sweeping tarriffs on imported goods has been ruled illegal by the U.S. Court of International Trade, and Senior US District Judge Charles Breyer’s ruling last week that Trump unlawfully federalized thousands of members of California’s National Guard in Los Angeles, are just two instances in a long list of court challenges to his authoritarian Executive Orders.

Defying international law Israel’s right wing government launched a blistering attack on Iran’s nuclear and military structures last Friday, killing 78 people and wounding 320. While in Gaza, the Israeli government is engaged in a genocide that has been condemned by 147 countries but supported by one - the USA.

Russia’s illegal attempt to annex Ukraine and the countless vile war crimes committed by both its troops and Wagner mercenaries are being documented in the hope the perpetrators can be brought to justice at the International Court in The Hague.

Meanwhile, in Aotearoa New Zealand, we are witnessing the attempt by David Seymour’s ACT Party to Americanize our legal system through the introduction of his dull sounding, but highly dangerous, Regulatory Standards Bill.

If passed it will achieve what his defeated Treaty Principles Bill attempted to do – namely undermine the Treaty - as well as diminish current Environmental and Health legislation, in order to make it easier for foreign investors to plunder our nation’s resources and exploit our people.

At the same time Seymour’s Regulatory Standards Bill will give whatever giant corporate that sets up shop here, the power to sue any future government that wants to act in the public good by passing legislation that will affect their profits and future profits. By deeming private property rights over the public good Seymour’s bill will have a chilling effect on all future legislation.

National, already watching its ratings alarmingly fall, are showing signs of wavering in their support of this bill, so you can stop this greedy power grab by making a written submissions to the Select Committee by 1pm in the 23rd of June . Here is the link.

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/54SCFIN_SCF_E22299B3-B67B-4F74-023D-08DD9688D2C5/regulatory-standards-bill

You don’t have to write a lot, and below please find 6 reasons you might like to consider to get you started. Please feel free to copy anything you like.

1. There is no reference to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and there has been no consultation with Māori during the drafting of this legislation. That tells you this bill is a Trogan horse designed to bypass the principles of our founding document embedded in our law and the Crown’s obligations to honour The Treaty.

2. It promotes the rights of private property over the public good. This will give enormous power to corporates over any future government, in that it will make it possible for any overseas owned entity to sue us - the taxpayers- if they can prove in court they would lose future imagined profits from an enterprise because of a new law . This would have a chilling effect on future legislation and therefore not in the best interest of our democracy.

3. The bill bypasses environmental protections and the need to consult with communities affected by any proposed developments.

4. The bill is hypocritical in that it claims to be “designed, implemented, and monitored so that it achieves its objectives, and its benefits outweigh its negative impacts.” But by avoiding Treaty, Environment impact and basic democractic rights issues, it would make it much easier to implement any further legislation that would undermine the rights of Māori under the Treaty, cause damage to the environment and to communities.

5. If this bill becomes law then a Regulatory Standards Board will have the power to scrutinise both new and existing legislation (my emphasis) on consistency with the deeply flawed principles of this bill. And who will appoint this board? The Minister of Regulations of course! and currently that is the Deputy Minister, David Seymour. So this is a power grab by The ACT party designed to embed their libertarian economic and social policies into our society and limit our democratic right to change our laws as we , the people, see fit.

6. Once again, as with other pieces of legislation proposed by ACT, The Regulatory Standards Bill creates a problem where no problem exists . If you go to The World Bank site you will see we rate an incredible 98.5 out of 100 for the excellence of our regulatory quality, rule of law and control corruption. This bill , if it became law, would undermine all that our democracy has achieved to date.

Kia kaha!

Please find below a very usefuil How TO guide copied from from the ActionStation website.

ActionStation Regulatory Standards Bill Quick Submissions Guide

Top Tips:

1. Make it personal - this is your chance to express your opinion

   in a way that only YOU can!

2. Don’t use offensive language, no swearing or calling anyone racist

3. Be clear - it’s better to be accurate than to sound smart!

Here are some prompts that might help you to write your submission:

Prompt 1: Start with: “My name is ________ and I Oppose The Regulatory Standards Bill”.

Prompt 2: Why do you oppose this Bill?

If you’re stuck, you could take inspiration from any of the following points. Feel free to make them your own - maybe read materials by people like Tania Waikato and Melanie Nelson (added below) to help formulate your ideas.

The RSB erases Te Tiriti from law making

You could talk about how the Bill underpins the power of David Seymour’s new Ministry for Regulation to install their anti-Te Tiriti policies throughout our democracy.

• It allows the Act Party’s Principles to have greater constitutional influence than the Treaty Principles - it even copies and pastes one of the principles from the Treaty Principles Bill!

• The Bill will enable the new Regulatory Standards Board to act as an anti-Waitangi Tribunal and recommend that Parliament erase Te Tiriti from all future and existing laws, except for Treaty settlements.

It threatens Māori led-progress

Here, you can talk about how the Bill is designed to dismantle Māori-led progress. You might want to include some key points like:

• The Waitangi Tribunal have already found that the Crown breached the Treaty/Te Tiriti principles of Partnership and Active Protection by failing to meaningfully consult with Māori on this Bill.

• Link to the Tribunal report here.

• Since the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal, the principles of Te Tiriti have been used to guide our partnership in a multitude of ways.

• This Bill diminishes the role that Te Tiriti plays as an equaliser in society and an advocate for the environment. It threatens that role by removing protections enabled by Te Tiriti from law - leaving us vulnerable to privatisation and environmental exploitation.

It’s stealthy and unconstitutional

You could talk about how it was introduced under urgency and that the Bill is an example of intentional constitutional reform by stealth. The Government is using its own mechanisms to bypass the democratic rights of the people of Aotearoa and the relationship our country is based upon through Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

• There was no consultation with Māori in the creation of the bill, so the Crown is already in breach of its own Treaty obligations - under principles like partnership, mutual respect and active protection.

• This is a blatant attempt by bad-faith actors to change the legal foundation of our country, with zero consent from its Treaty partners.

It puts everyone in Aotearoa and the environment at risk

You might find it valuable to talk about how the Bill prioritises private property rights and corporate profits over care for people and the environment.

• If the RSB becomes law, we could be in a situation where another law aimed to prevent pollution could be flagged for “imposing costs” on businesses.

• This Bill would mean that the government or council would be forced to compensate the business for those costs - in effect it would tether us to the will and desires of big corporations.

Here are some tips from Tania Waikato:

PRIMARY SUBMISSION – MUST INCLUDE THIS ONE:

1. I oppose the Regulatory Standards Bill being passed.

OPTIONAL SUBMISSIONS IN SUBJECT GROUPS – PICK AS MANY AS YOU LIKE:

Objections based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi

2. The Regulatory Standards Bill fundamentally breaches Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

3. The Regulatory Standards Bill undermines the Treaty principles of tino rangatiratanga

and partnership.

4. Passing the Regulatory Standards Bill will breach the Crown's obligations to Māori underTe Tiriti.

5. The consultation process for the Regulatory Standards Bill breached Te Tiriti.

6. The Regulatory Standards Bill will ignore historical injustices against Māori.

7. The Regulatory Standards Bill neglects Māori perspectives in law-making processes.

8. Excluding Māori from regulatory decision-making undermines the principle of

partnership enshrined in Te Tiriti.

9. The Regulatory Standards Bill's approach to law-making marginalises Māori voices and

perspectives.

10. The Regulatory Standards Bill threatens the progress made in Māori-Crown relations.

11. The Regulatory Standards Bill will erode Māori rights to self-determination and cultural

preservation.

12. The Regulatory Standards Bill will threaten the revitalisation of te reo Māori.

13. The Regulatory Standards Bill's approach to regulation will perpetuate systemic racism and discrimination against Māori.

14. The Regulatory Standards Bill will undermine the role of Māori governance structures

and institutions.

15. The Regulatory Standards Bill will undermine the principles of equity and justice for

Māori.

16. The Regulatory Standards Bill will lead to the erosion of Māori language rights and

cultural practices.

17. The Regulatory Standards Bill's approach to regulation will perpetuate colonial

structures of power and control over Māori communities.

18. The Regulatory Standards Bill will undermine the principle active protection enshrined

in te Tiriti.

Minorities & Social Equity

19. The Regulatory Standards Bill will negatively impact women’s rights including the fight

for pay equity.

20. The Regulatory Standards Bill will negatively impact Pasifika whanau and targeted

funding that addresses existing inequities.

21. The Regulatory Standards Bill will negatively impact disabled whanau and targeted

funding that addresses existing inequities.

22. The Regulatory Standards Bill will negatively impact whanau who are struggling

economically and make accessing help more difficult.

23. The Regulatory Standards Bill prioritises individual property rights over collective social responsibilities which will have a negative effect on society.

24. The Regulatory Standards Bill will disproportionately benefit wealthy individuals and

corporations, exacerbating social disparities.

25. The Regulatory Standards Bill's focus on deregulation will reduce protections for

vulnerable communities and worker’s rights.

26. The Regulatory Standards Bill will diminish safeguards for minority groups especially in employment and health and safety.

27. The Regulatory Standards Bill will lead to reduced accountability for actions that

adversely affect marginalised populations such as cutting funding for disabled

communities and minorities.

28. The Regulatory Standards Bill's emphasis on individual liberties conflicts with the need for collective social protections.

29. The Regulatory Standards Bill will weaken anti-discrimination and hinder progress

toward social equity.

30. The Regulatory Standards Bill will erode hard-won gains in social justice and human

rights protections.

31. The Regulatory Standards Bill will set back efforts to create a more inclusive and

equitable society.

Environmental Concerns

32. The Regulatory Standards Bill will weaken environmental protections.

33. The Regulatory Standards Bill will threaten our unique ecosystems.

34. The Regulatory Standards Bill will enable projects harmful to biodiversity and

conservation efforts.

35. The Regulatory Standards Bill will facilitate the exploitation of natural resources at the

expense of environmental sustainability.

36. The Regulatory Standards Bill will weaken environmental protections, and accelerate

the loss of endangered species.

37. The Regulatory Standards Bill will undermine public participation in environmental

decision-making processes.

38. The Regulatory Standards Bill will pave the way for developments that disregard climate change considerations.

39. The Regulatory Standards Bill will increase the risk of environmental degradation.

40. The Regulatory Standards Bill will accelerate the privatisation of government activities

that will weaken environmental protections.

41. The Regulatory Standards Bill's focus on deregulation will compromise long-term

environmental health.

Democratic Process & Accountability

42. The Regulatory Standards Bill centralises power in the hands of David Seymour, the

Ministry for Regulation and the Regulatory Standards Board, reducing democratic

accountability.

43. The Regulatory Standards Bill consultation documents undermined democratic

participation in law-making by failing to disclose the fundamental constitutional

impacts of the bill.

44. The Regulatory Standards Bill will diminish the role of Parliament and act as a restraint

on its power.

45. The Regulatory Standards Bill will erode checks and balances between the branches of government, essential for a functioning democracy.

46. The Regulatory Standards Bill will cause a fundamental constitutional shift by enabling the repeal of Treaty provisions in existing laws.

47. The Regulatory Standards Bill will reduce the ability of minorities to participate fairly in

democratic processes by slanting the assessment framework against them.

48. The Regulatory Standards Bill diminishes the significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in New Zealand's legal and political framework.

49. The Regulatory Standards Bill will enshrine the Act Party’s principles into the

constitutional fabric of Aotearoa.

50. The Regulatory Standards Bill will make David Seymour the most powerful politician in

the country.

And here are some amazing tips from Melanie Nelson: RSB (Regulatory Standards Bill) - Explainer and Submission Guide

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