Fourth time lucky? ACT’s regulatory standards law may finally pass, despite Treaty and legal doubts

ACT Party leader David Seymour. Getty Images

With the ACT Party’s Regulatory Standards Bill now before the Finance and Expenditure Committee, having passed its first reading in parliament last week, parallels with the now abandoned Treaty Principles Bill have already been drawn.

Lawyer Tania Waikato, who led an urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim before the bill was introduced, has dubbed it “the Treaty Principles Bill 2.0”. The tribunal itself recommended the government “immediately halt [its] advancement”.