Oral Submission on the New Zealand–India Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill

Presented to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee by the Chair of Democracy Action, Lee Short

30 July 2026

Thank you, Mr Chair and members of the Committee, for the opportunity to appear today on behalf of Democracy Action.

As you will have gathered from our written submission, while we support trade with India, our principal concern is the provision in the New Zealand–India Free Trade Agreement affirming the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or UNDRIP.

We have received correspondence from the Minister for Trade, Hon Todd McClay, stating that the reference to UNDRIP in the Agreement is not legally binding and does not impose any legal obligations on New Zealand. While we welcome that assurance, we do not believe it is sufficient.

Our concern is that the Agreement formally affirms UNDRIP. In legal and constitutional terms, affirmation is significant. It signals acceptance of a commitment and can influence how courts and decision-makers interpret legislation and develop public policy.

An express affirmation by New Zealand in an international agreement gives UNDRIP additional standing that it would not otherwise have.

This concern is not new. As we noted in our submission on the Free Trade Agreement itself, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted UNDRIP in 2007, New Zealand voted against it under the Labour Government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark. New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Rosemary Banks, explained that several provisions of the Declaration were fundamentally incompatible with New Zealand's constitutional and democratic arrangements. Those constitutional concerns have never been resolved.

For that reason, we believe ministerial assurances alone are inadequate. Ministers change. Governments change. Legislation endures.

We believe nothing less than a clear statutory prohibition will provide the certainty that Parliament intends.

Fortunately, the solution already presents itself in the National Interest Analysis that accompanied the Agreement.

Section 6 explains that new legislation and amendments to existing legislation are required to implement the Agreement, and that these measures will be contained in a single omnibus bill.

We therefore respectfully urge this Committee to recommend that the implementing legislation include an explicit provision stating that:

• the Agreement's affirmation of UNDRIP does not give UNDRIP the force of law in New Zealand;
• it does not create any rights or obligations under New Zealand law;
• it does not give UNDRIP presumptive weight in interpreting legislation;
• and it does not make UNDRIP a relevant consideration for courts, Ministers, public agencies, or other decision-makers.

For the avoidance of doubt, we further recommend that the legislation state that, for all purposes of New Zealand law, policy, and administrative practice, the Agreement's affirmation of UNDRIP is to be disregarded.

Such a provision would remove uncertainty, give effect to the Government's stated intention that the reference has no domestic legal effect, and prevent unnecessary litigation over Parliament's intent.

Thank you for your time.