The Justice Committee has outlined its plans for handling submissions on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, including hearings, rules on offensive language, and a policy on anonymous submissions.

The committee expects a significant public response and aims to ensure a fair and measured process.

With a large number of submissions anticipated, the committee acknowledged that not all submitters who wish to speak will be able to do so.

Decisions on selecting submitters for hearings will be made in January 2025, following the submission deadline.

Hearings are scheduled to take place at Parliament and via Zoom video-conferencing during the week starting Monday, 27 January, and the weeks beginning 10, 17, and 24 February 2025.

“The committee will not accept submissions containing racist material, particularly overt racism or characterising people as racist, strong swear words, or abusive personal reflections against MPs or other individuals,” the committee said.

Any submission deemed to breach these criteria will be returned to the submitter, who will have the opportunity to resubmit without the offensive language if they wish.

“These decisions reflect the committee’s desire to facilitate a measured debate and mirror the rules for debate among MPs in Parliament,” the statement added.The committee has also clarified that anonymous submissions will generally not be accepted. This includes submissions made under first names only, initials, or obviously fictitious names.

“Anonymous submissions will be returned to the submitter, if it is possible to do so,” the committee said.