The fact that quite senior establishment figures unthinkingly link the phrases “Treaty of Waitangi” and “founding document” in their public utterances has created the impression that the treaty is the source of all things constitutional in New Zealand when closer inspection reveals that this is not actually true.

The Treaty of Waitangi is about chiefs ceding sovereignty in return for rights as British subjects and all the treaty actually says is that the Queen is sovereign and Maori are her subjects, with the rights of subjects, including possession of property.

If a constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed, thus constituting what the entity is, the November 16, 1840, Royal Charter is the first statement on how the governance of New Zealand was to be organised.

Queen Victoria’s Royal Charter enacted the Colony of New Zealand, established a legislative council, an executive council and the courts, and granted certain powers and authority to the Governor. New Zealand became independent of New South Wales under the watchful eye of the British Parliament.

The charter, which is on display on the Constitution Room at National Archives in Wellington, was an early step in a long process. There was the New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 that was not fully implemented. The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 granted self-government to the colony of New Zealand.

The 1852 Act established:

1. A bicameral general assembly consisting of the governor, a legislative council, and a house of representatives;

2. An executive council, nominally appointed by the governor;

3. Division of New Zealand into six provinces that had the authority to pass provincial legislation.