Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu
Land Claims Report for November 2016
1. Repossession of Kaitāia Airport in the District Court for decision 5 December
2. Minister of Treaty Negotiations provides some more Official Information
3. Reconfirmation of mandate
4. National Iwi Chairs’ Forum 30 November to 2 December
5. Progress with publication of Deed of Partial Settlement
6. Ngāti Kahu Trust Board Litigation Against Ngāti Kahu Mortgage Services
7. Awaiting Court of Appeal decision on binding recommendations
Summary
• The hearing for the six Patukōraha, Ngāi Tohianga and Te Paatu people arrested for trespassing on their own ancestral lands at Rangiāniwaniwa took place between 31 October and 3 November. Closing submissions will be heard on 5 December and the judge’s decision will be delivered.
• We have received some more of the official information we requested early in August from the Minister of Treaty Negotiations and the Minister of Māori Development.
• The delays in receiving the official information have delayed the development of the proposal and budget for the mandate reconfirmation process although the Frequently Asked Questions has been completed and distributed.
• Huia Publishers who are publishing our book Ngāti Kahu: Portrait of a Sovereign Nation, our Deed of Partial Settlement, has been dealing with the earthquake in Wellington in recent weeks.
• The Rūnanga’s and the Ngāti Kahu Trust Board interim trustees for Ngāti Kahu’s farm at Taipā are moving through the process required before they hand over to the permanent trustees in March 2017.
• We are still awaiting the Court of Appeal’s decision on our appeals in respect of the Waitangi Tribunal not making binding recommendations.
1. Repossession of Kaitāia Airport in the District Court 31 October
I am unable to provide a report on this hearing or the closing submissions that will be heard on 5 December because I am an expert witness in the case. I will report after the decision is issued on 5 December.
2. Minister of Treaty Negotiations provides some more Official Information
Last month we received some of the official information we requested on 12 August. We discussed these at our last Rūnanga hui. We requested that other documents that we could identify as being missing also be sent. They finally arrived on 10 November. We know there is a lot more that has not been provided.
Like the last batch, the information sent this time is interesting. There are 15 items. Many are partially redacted (blacked out). What is readable identifies Rangitane Marsden, chief negotiator for Ngāi Takoto, and now CEO of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Takoto, in regular communication with the Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS) staff about how to settle Ngāti Kahu’s treaty claims using two marae and various individuals. He arranged at least one meeting between OTS and these individuals in Whangārei last year. It demonstrates once again the lengths the Crown will go to in an attempt to undermine and divide Ngāti Kahu. We will discuss this information at our next hui on 3 December.
Following on from our discussions at the last Rūnanga hui, conversations have taken place with some of the individuals identified to ascertain how the treaty claims team and the mandated negotiators can assist them.
3. Reconfirmation of mandate
We advised the Minister that it would take until 2020 to complete their requirement that we reconfirm our mandate. This is the period required to ensure that people reach their own decisions in their own time rather than being forced to rush through the decision-making process. The Minister has responded saying that it must be completed within a timeframe acceptable to him, which is nine months, requiring us to respond to that demand.
We notified the Minister that we would not be responding until we had all the requested official information and had had the time to discuss it and decide on an appropriate response. Now that we have received some of that information, we have started developing a written proposal for a process to undertake the reconfirmation of the Rūnanga’s mandate that includes the various steps demanded by the ministers. It follows the outline presented to the Rūnanga hui in August and advised to the Ministers in September. It has become clear that the steps required by the Ministers will require significant additional resources that we will have to contract in. Once the proposal and an accompanying budget has been finalized it will be circulated for approval before being sent off to the Ministers.
In the meantime we are proceeding with the communications and strategic planning exercises as advised last month. We drew up, discussed and then distributed a set of frequently asked questions about Ngāti Kahu's treaty claims and the Rūnanga. Please contact the office if you did not receive a copy.
4. National Iwi Chairs’ Forum 30 November to 2 December
I will be attending this hui of the Forum which will be held in Blenheim. Timoti Flavell and Hōhepa Rāmeka will also attend along with Zarrah Pineaha as our rangatahi representative.
The agenda papers (202 pages) have just arrived. Items on the agenda include reports from:
• Matike Mai Aotearoa – Constitutional Transformation and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Monitoring Mechanism (Chair: Prof. Margaret Mutu, Ngāti Kahu)
• United Nations Taonga and Karipori Taonga (Chair: Selwyn Parata, Ngāti Porou)
• Te Ūkaipō Strategy for looking after marae (new) (Chair: Tā Tumu Te Heuheu, Tūwharetoa)
• Conservation (Chair: Tā Mark Solomon, Ngāi Tahu)
• Climate Change (Chair: Selwyn Parata)
• Freshwater (Chairs: Tā Tumu Te Heuheu, Tā Mark Solomon)
• Whānau Ora (Chairs: Rāhui Papa, Tainui; Naida Glavish, Ngāti Whātua) – covers Pou Matakana (North Island), Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu (South Island), E Tū Whānau (domestic violence), Social Issues.
• Justice (Chairs: Rāhui Papa, Naida Glavish)
• Iwi Data (Chair: Dr Will Edward, Ngāruahine)
• Housing (Chair: Naida Glavish)
• Ngā Rangatahi-ā-Iwi (Chair: Rāhui Papa)
• He Kai Kei Aku Ringa – Crown-Māori Economic Growth Partnership (Chair: Ngāhiwi Tomoana, Ngāti Kahungunu)
• Iwi Collective (Chair: ?)
A number of external kaupapa presentations are on the agenda including:
• Te Ohu Kaimoana (fisheries)
• Suzanne Aubert Cause
• British High Commissioner
• Whawhai ki te Ora 2017
• Government Prison Expansion
• Inland Revenue Department
• Māori Sport
• Dragon Taniwha Economic Summit (both Ngāti Kahu and Carrington Jade have been invited to do presentations at the Summit in February in Hastings)
Various Ministers of the Crown have also been allocated time towards the end of the agenda.
I will report on key issues from the Forum in my January report.
For items 5, 6 and 7 please see the summary above.
Professor Margaret Mutu
27 November 2016