TPPA protesters in Christchurch. Some critics of the deal have expressed fears it could undermine guarantees regarding Maori treatment under the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Government has rebuffed claims the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement will undermine the rights of Maori under the Treaty of Waitangi, saying it has secured protections in the controversial deal.

Trade Minister Todd McClay announced the release of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) fact sheet about the TPPA and the Treaty, following suggestions the deal breached the Crown's obligations to Maori.

The document says the TPPA agreement includes a specific provision "preserving the pre-eminence of the Treaty of Waitangi".

SUPPLIED Trade Minister Todd McClay says there is "misinformation" being spread about how the TPPA will affect Maori.

"The exception ensures that successive governments retain flexibility to implement domestic policies that favour Maori without being obliged to offer equivalent treatment to overseas entities."

READ MORE:

* TPPA signing confirmed for NZ

* TPPA set for NZ signing - reports

* Judge orders Govt to review refusal to release TPPA documents

* Labour unlikely to withdraw from TPPA deal if in government, Little says

* Government negotiates TPPA exemptions

* No increased medicine costs under TPPA

* TPPA: What it means for NZ

The TPPA deal also allows New Zealand to protect indigenous plant species as part of its Treaty of Waitangi obligations without falling foul of rules around plant variety systems.

Mfat says it will hold a number of hui in the Far North, Auckland, Rotorua, Christchurch and Wellington to discuss the TPPA and answer questions.

Members of the Iwi Leaders Forum, iwi organisations, pan-tribal Maori organisations, and claimants in a Waitangi Tribunal proceeding regarding the TPPA will be among those invited to the meeting.

McClay said he had released the document to combat "misinformation" about the TPPA and how it would affect Maori.

"Nothing in TPP will prevent the Crown from meeting its obligations to Māori.

"As with all of New Zealand's free trade agreements since 2001, [the TPPA] includes a specific provision preserving the pre-eminence of the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand."

New Zealand's approach to free trade agreements included recognition of the constitutional significance of the Treaty of Waitangi, McClay said.

He claimed Maori would also benefit financially from the lifting of tariffs, with the $40 million Maori asset base including "significant" ownership in export sectors such as red meat, dairy, kiwifruit, forestry, and seafood.

MAORI 'LEFT OUT'

McClay's comments come after Auckland University professor and TPPA critic Jane Kelsey released a paper from a number of academics, stating the deal would make it difficult for New Zealand governments to develop laws and policies which were consistent with the Treaty of Waitangi.

"It is extremely disappointing that the Government would enter into such an agreement without securing effective protection for Maori, which the "Treaty of Waitangi exception" fails to do," Victoria University professor Carwyn Jones said.

Auckland University law lecturer Andrew Erueti said the Government should have "fully engaged" with Maori to ensure their views were taken into consideration during TPPA negotiations.

Ngapuhi elder Kingi Taurua has threatened to block the Government from Te Tii Marae on Waitangi Day if the TPPA deal is signed as planned at an Auckland ceremony on February 4.

"I believe [the TPPA] is a breach of the document. Maori have been left out, the Treaty was a partnership between two people but it appears we have been left out," Taurua told the Northern Advocate.