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There’s already trouble in paradise it seems.

The Act Party secured half a win during the coalition negotiations when it received assurances from National and New Zealand First that both parties would vote for David Seymour’s Treaty Principals bill.

But there was a catch.

The obligation only extends to the first reading of the yet-to-be-tabled piece of legislation.

That means it’s guaranteed to go to the select committee process, where it will be thrashed out by MPs and members of the public in what will no doubt be a heated debate.

After that, the fate of the bill is seemingly unclear – as NZ First and the Nats have no obligation to vote for it in its second reading.

True to his party’s agreement, Chris Luxon’s been busy reminding reporters that he won’t commit to lending Seymour National’s votes in the second reading.

To comment on his party’s support of a bill which his MPs have not yet even read would be premature, the Prime Minister’s said.

Which is both a true, and a fair position to take.

But that’s not the road New Zealand First has chosen.

Speaking to ��һ�ǿ�����hub this week, Shane Jones said: “We’ll participate in the process to have the bill tabled in Parliament, debated in Parliament, referred to select committee, and after that we won’t be voting for it”.

In one sentence, he killed the bill.

A coalition Government is a coalition Government for one reason: It’s ability to pass laws in the House.

New Zealand First, Act and National are all joined at the hip as all 68 MPs are needed to pass legislation (technically only 62 are needed, but parties tend to vote in blocks).

All this is to say: If you don’t have the support of all three Governing parties, you cannot pass a law.

Seymour’s bill will die on the floor of the House during its second reading.

That hasn’t gone down well in Act’s camp.

There’s a perception that New Zealand First has acted in bad faith by publicly stating it would not support the bill, before it’s MPs have even seen it.

Speaking to media at Ratana this week, Shane Jones somewhat walked back the comments – but by then it was too late: The Genie was out of the bottle.

Somewhere in the bowels of Parliament, a poor group of staff members are pulling together a piece of legislation which is destined to fail.

MPs will spend precious hours in the House debating the doomed bill, and a select committee will take weeks to refine a piece of legislation which will never see the light of day.

The irony of an anti-wasteful spending National-led Government pouring copious amounts of time and money into a dead-duck bill has not been lost on Luxon’s critics.

But just because Seymour’s dreams have been shot down by the human political wrecking ball that is Shane Jones, does not mean Treaty issues will go undebated this term.

The Act/ National coalition agreement states that National and Act will “amend the Waitangi Tribunal legislation to refocus the scope, purpose, and nature of its inquiries back to the original intent of that legislation.”

At Ratana, Jones was open about his party's support of this clause of the coalition agreement.

“The principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are enunciated by the Waitangi Tribunal whose writ will be reviewed by New Zealand First and the Government and the principles that do come from the Waitangi Tribunal.”

Little is (publicly) known about the scope of this refocusing, including the scale of the reforms and when legislation will be introduced.

But with NZ First already throwing its support behind the principle of the plan – to refocus the Tribunal legislation – it appears this piece of legislation will have no problem making its way through the House and becoming law.

Shane Jones might have killed Seymour’s bill – but that does not mean the Government’s quest to shake up the Treaty debate has ended.

It seems it’s only just begun.