Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu
Land Claims Report for September 2015
1. Ngāti Kahu directs the High Court to quash Waitangi Tribunal report
2. Second Hui-ā-iwi of Ngāti Kahu on treaty claims
3. OTS and government officials still causing problems
4. Patukōraha and Ngāi Tohianga repossess Kaitāia Airport
5. Progress with publication of Deed of Partial Settlement
6. Ngāti Kahu Trust Board Litigation Against Ngāti Kahu Mortgage Services
Summary
· As requested by the High Court we have directed it to quash the Waitangi Tribunal’s report declining us binding recommendations and to order it to rehear our application for binding recommendations. We have also applied to appeal those sections of the High Court decision we consider are incorrect at law.
· A very well attended hui-ā-iwi held on 12 September 2015 at Karepōnia marae confirmed that eleven Ngāti Kahu marae have rejected the government’s offer to fully and finally settle all Ngāti Kahu claims and that the Rūnanga is to keep progressing Ngāti Kahu’s claims through the Tribunal and the courts.
· We have received no response to our official complaint against a senior OTS staff member for interfering and having other government servants interfere in Ngāti Kahu’s treaty claims.
· Patukōraha and Ngāi Tohianga repossessed the Kaitāia Airport at Rangiāniwaniwa to highlight the injustices against Ngāti Kahu being perpetrated in the legislation which extinguishes all the claims of Te Rarawa, Ngāi Takoto, Te Aupōuri and Ngāti Kurī. It resulted in Winston Peters attacking the Minister of Treaty Negotiations for selling Rangiāniwaniwa to Ngāi Takoto instead of returning it to Ngāti Kahu.
· We continue working with Huia Publishers to prepare our Deed of Partial Settlement for publication.
· Ngāti Kahu Trust Board’s litigation is progressing towards settlement
1. Ngāti Kahu directs the High Court to quash Waitangi Tribunal report
At our last Rūnanga hui it was agreed that we would direct the High Court to quash the Tribunal’s decision not to give us binding recommendations. We also agreed that the lawyers would examine the legal deficiencies in the decision and we would follow their advice on it.
Our lawyers have now filed the necessary papers in the High Court and the Court of Appeal. They will also be pursuing costs from the government.
2. Second Hui-ā-iwi of Ngāti Kahu on treaty claims
A second hui-ā-iwi was held, this time at Karepōnia marae on 12 September to update the people on the claims. It was very well attended and included many rangatahi. Whānau from at least 12 marae attended. Once again we went over the 30 year history of the claims taken to the Waitangi Tribunal. That included discussing the repossession of Kaitāia Airport that took place a few days beforehand. We also went through the Crown’s offer it made in 2013 to fully and finally extinguish all our claims. Many questions were asked and there was lots of discussion.
The hui indicated that the negotiators and the Rūnanga as the body mandated to represent Ngāti Kahu were to continue on their current pathway in the Tribunal and the courts. Haiti-tai-marangai marae reported they wanted a full and final settlement of their claims as did Kauhanga marae although whānau from those marae expressed contrary views. Other hapū and marae at the hui-ā-iwi asked that they go home and sort out their own internal problems.
3. OTS and government officials still causing problems
Despite an assurance that we would receive a response to our official complaint against a senior OTS staff member for interfering and having other government servants interfere in Ngāti Kahu’s treaty claims, we have received no response. Instead we received messages from Chris Finlayson through the media during the repossession of Kaitāia airport insisting that Ngāti Kahu get rid of its current leadership. The government has always tried to dictate who Māori leaders are. While it has succeeded in other iwi, it has yet to succeed in Ngāti Kahu.
4. Patukōraha and Ngāi Tohianga repossess Kaitāia Airport
On Tuesday 8 September Patukōraha and Ngāi Tohianga repossessed the Kaitāia Airport at Rangiāniwaniwa. A hui had been held the previous week and the previous evening to discuss the repossession. The two hapū were highlighting the injustices being perpetrated against Ngāti Kahu in the legislation which extinguishes all the claims of Te Rarawa, Ngāi Takoto, Te Aupōuri and Ngāti Kurī. These were having their final reading in parliament the following day.
The particular injustice at Rangiāniwaniwa, the land the Kaitāia airport has been built on, is that this land was confiscated from Kataraina Mātenga and the Erstich whānau using the Public Works Act in the early 1940s as part of the World War II takings. The government promised to return it at the end of the war and never did despite more than 70 years of correspondence and negotiations.
In the full and final settlement with Ngāi Takoto half that land is offered for sale to them with the remaining half being offered as well if Ngāti Kahu does not fully and finally settle within three years.
There was extensive media coverage and a great deal of attention focused on the repossession. Media presence at the repossession had been organized and press releases had been issued providing the full background. However several media outlets, including the local Northland Age newspaper ignored them and made up their own stories. The media releases were also sent to several Māori MPs and Pita Paraone of Ngāti Hine was asked to put Ngāti Kahu’s case on the record in parliament. He put part of it on the record and directed the information about the airport to his leader, Winston Peters, who launched a scathing attack on the Minister of Treaty Negotiations for selling Rangiāniwaniwa to Ngāi Takoto instead of returning it to Ngāti Kahu and for not telling parliament that Ngāti Kahu had just won a case in the High Court against the Waitangi Tribunal. The Minister reacted very badly, throwing a tantrum but continuing to lie about the airport lands. He did however concede that Ngāti Kahu owned the lands.
Once Winston and Pita had defended Ngāti Kahu in parliament, the construction carried out as part of the repossession was dismantled and moved off the airport. Six mana whenua remained when the police arrived, refusing to be ordered off their own land. Two were from the Erstich whānau, three from Ngāi Tohianga and our Te Paatu kaumātua who is one of the few remaining 28th Māori battalion veterans. All except one were kaumātua. Several other kuia and kaumātua wanted to be arrested but their whānau would not allow it.
In the court the following week no pleas were entered and neither was a warrant issued for the arrest of our Te Paatu kaumātua when he didn’t attend. The judge adjourned the case to allow a restorative justice process to be attempted that will require the Minister of Treaty Negotiations to fix up the mess he made. The next hearing is scheduled for 22 October.
In the Northland Age on 15 September a letter of thanks from Anthony (Mātenga Erstich) Housham was published thanking all those, Māori and Pākehā, who had supported the repossession: those who brought food and money to the airport, the several hundred messages of support and those of the media who made the effort to get the story right. It was highlighted beside other letters and an editorial which concentrated on abusing Ngāti Kahu.
5. Progress with Publication of the Deed of Partial Settlement – Ngāti Kahu: Portrait of a Sovereign Nation
I have completed the revision of the maps for this book and Huia Pacey is now working on finalizing them. I’m also reviewing the entire manuscript to check that all requested amendments have been made. We need to discuss with Huia Publishers how many photos we can include before Anahera starts coming round the marae to do these.
6. Ngāti Kahu Trust Board v Ngāti Kahu Mortgage Services Ltd
There continues to be good progress on finalizing the documentation to conclude this matter.
Professor Margaret Mutu
19 September 2015