Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu Land Claims Portfolio
Report for July 2018
1. Waitangi Tribunal judicial review
2. National Iwi Chairs Forum – Independent Monitoring Mechanism heading to Geneva
Summary
• The application to the Waitangi Tribunal for binding recommendations is on hold awaiting the outcome of a review by the High Court. The Crown is continuing to put resources into disrupting the court proceedings in order to delay having to return the land it stole from Ngāti Kahu.
• The two representatives of the Independent Monitoring Mechanism went to Geneva and presented our fourth report on the government’s compliance (or lack thereof) with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
1. Waitangi Tribunal judicial review
The application to the Waitangi Tribunal for binding recommendations is on hold awaiting the outcome of a review by the High Court. The Court of Appeal ordered the Tribunal to make binding recommendations in December 2016. The High Court will review the Tribunal’s refusal to carry out that order.
The High Court application has been filed and copies have gone to the Tribunal and to the Crown. At the Crown’s request the High Court has allowed anyone who wishes to participate. That is including people who do not have claims or are outside Ngāti Kahu’s rohe. It will drag the process out considerably. Our lawyers have served all those parties and are hoping that a judicial conference scheduled now for 11 September goes ahead. Mā te wā.
2. National Iwi Chairs Forum – Independent Monitoring Mechanism heading to Geneva
At the beginning of July, two of our Monitoring Mechanism technical advisors went to the United Nations in Geneva and presented our fourth report to the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. They were Bill Hamilton (Ngāti Kahungunu) and Tracey Whare (Ngāti Raukawa). Associate Professor Claire Charters (Ngāti Whakaue) who is a member of our Mechanism was also there as was Jessica Ngātai (Ngāti Wai) of the Human Rights Commission.
Bill and Tracey made several presentations and held a successful ‘side event’ (lunch-time seminar) to encourage discussion on the topic of “Developing and Implementing a National Plan of Action: What is Good Practice?”.
We are the first country to bring our government to the point of developing a National Plan of Action for the Declaration. Its first priority is constitutional transformation. Nanaia Mahuta’s input as Minister of Māori Development has been helpful and we have recommended to National Iwi Chairs Forum that work with her continue.
There was a strong rangatahi presence and we have recommended that their rōpū Kuaka Mārangaranga be invited to the November National Iwi Chairs Forum hui.
The Monitoring Mechanism has extended an invitation to the United Nations Expert Mechanism to visit us here to assist us with our work in developing and implementing the National Plan of Action and seeks the endorsement of the Forum for this invitation.
We have also made submissions to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women and to the United Nations Human Rights Council in respect of the 2019 universal periodic review of New Zealand.
Professor Margaret Mutu
23 July 2018