General policy statement

The purpose of this Bill is to ensure that a person taking any oath set out in statute may, in addition to the words of the oath, elect to state that they will uphold the Treaty of Waitangi. This principle recognises that the Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand's founding document and the Government is committed to fulfilling its obligations as a Treaty partner.

Clause by clause analysis

Clause 1 is the Title clause.

Clause 2 provides that the Bill comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.

Clause 3 states that the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957 is the principal Act.

Clause 4 introduces a new section 4B into the principal Act—

• allowing for any person taking an oath under any statute to elect, in addition to the words of the oath, to state that they will uphold the Treaty of Waitingi; and

• providing for the words to be used by any person stating that they will uphold the Treaty of Waitangi.