Summarised by Centrist
Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono has introduced the Tohorā Oranga Bill, also known as the Whale Health Bill, to Parliament.
The bill would recognise whales as legal persons with inherent rights.
It would apply to whales in the Pacific Ocean around New Zealand. This includes baleen whales, sperm whales, beaked whales, orca and pilot whales.
The bill says whales should have rights including freedom of movement, a healthy environment, habitat restoration, and protection of natural behaviour and social structures.
It would require decision-makers to consider the interests of whales when approving activities that may affect them.
This could include fishing, shipping, seabed mining and coastal development.
Authorities would still have discretion. But they would need to record how they weighed public interest against the interests of whales.
The article says the bill follows years of advocacy by Pacific Indigenous leaders. It also cites the 2024 He Whakaputanga Moana Declaration, which called for stronger whale protections.
Ngāti Wai and the Hinemoana Halo Ocean Fund helped draft the bill.
If passed, the article says the bill would be the first legally binding instrument in the Pacific to grant whales legal personhood and inherent rights.
The bill will enter Parliament’s ballot system. It will be debated only if selected.
