Waitangi Tribunal launch refreshed website
The Waitangi Tribunal has launched a new website that features improved user experience and te reo Māori capability.
In 2023, the Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the Waitangi Tribunal and judiciary, launched a programme to update and refresh the Waitangi Tribunal’s website(external link). The improved website went live on Thursday 26 September 2024.
The new website design and layout has been strongly influenced by concepts of mana tangata and kaitiakitanga, and has been redesigned to be visually engaging, user friendly, and intuitive, allowing users to track inquiry progress, and search for information, documents, and reports more effectively and efficiently. A key consideration behind the redesign work is the new language-toggle component enabling the website to be accessible in te reo Māori.
Judge Reeves, Deputy Chairperson for the Waitangi Tribunal, in her kōrero for the launch, emphasised the importance the Tribunal’s website plays in access to information.
“What a great day this is. The Waitangi Tribunal’s website provides a wide range of information and documentation about the Tribunal, about its membership, and the current inquiry work programme. The website is also a highly trusted and accessed source of information about the Treaty and Treaty claims processes.”
“The website’s metrics show that for the six months ending 30 June 2024, the Tribunal’s website had over 4.4 million views and 1.1 million users from Aotearoa New Zealand and across the world,” says Judge Reeves.
The website launch featured a livestream panel session led by Judge Reeves (Deputy Chairperson), Dr Ruakere Hond (Tribunal Member), Judge Alana Thomas (Presiding Officer), Sandra Edmonds (Deputy Director, Waitangi Tribunal Unit) and Kesaia Walker (Chief Historian, Waitangi Tribunal Unit). The launch featured karakia and mihi to all staff and agencies involved in the redesign and development as well as a demo of the refreshed website.