Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu Land Claims Portfolio
Report for August – September 2018
1. Waitangi Tribunal judicial review
2. National Iwi Chairs Forum
3. Fourth Diplomatic Mission to Shanghai
Summary
• The application to the Waitangi Tribunal for binding recommendations is on hold awaiting the outcome of a review by the High Court. The hearing is being set down for February 2019.
• National Iwi Chairs Forum met at Hopuhopu 1 – 3 August 2018. Rangatahi and our Taumata Kaumātua attended. There has been some progress towards a National Plan of Action for implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
• Our fourth diplomatic mission to Shanghai went well and our relationship with Shanghai Cred (owners of Carrington Jade) remains strong.
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.
Although the High Court allowed anyone who wished to participate to do so, only one party indicated an interest. However, that will be a watching brief only. The High Court has indicated that the hearing will take place in February 2019.
2. National Iwi Chairs Forum – hui at Hopuhopu 1 – 3 August 2018
The first day was set aside for strategic planning which took place at Rukumoana marae in Morrinsville. A working group is considering how to streamline the operation of the Forum.
The second and third day of the hui took place at Hopuhopu. Reports from the various Iwi Leaders’ Groups indicated that while Te Pou Tikanga (Constitutional Transformation, the Monitoring Mechanism and Treaty Claims Settlements) is making some headway either in the courts or with Nanaia Mahuta as Minister of Māori Development, the work of others was being frustrated. The Monitoring Mechanism and Nanaia Mahuta have agreed to work together on a National Plan of Action for the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – which includes as a first priority, constitutional transformation.
The Treaty Claims Settlements group has had a major win in the Supreme Court over the government’s handling of overlapping claims. The Supreme Court upheld Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei’s request to have the High Court hear their case against the Crown selling Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei’s lands to the Hauraki iwi as part the Hauraki “settlement”.
This sort of thing has happened throughout the country and in our case, our lands at Rangiāniwaniwa --+(including the airport), at Takahue, at Hukatere, along Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē and in Kaitāia have been sold to other iwi as part of their “settlements”.
Te Pou Tangata is having problems progressing Te Whānau Ora. The programme is currently under review. Peeni Henare, as Minister for this area, has indicated his frustration with government servants who refuse to allow the programme to operate properly. The Auditor-General made the same criticisms several years ago.
Te Pou Taiao is having on-going problems progressing Māori ownership of fresh water. It decided not to participate in the government group Te Kahui Waimāori which was set up without consultation to discuss “Māori rights and interests” in fresh water. Nanaia Mahuta as Minister of Local Government has agreed to work with Te Pou Taiao on the management of drinking water, storm water and wastewater.
Moana Jackson addressed the Forum about his research into the Criminal Justice system confirming that the situation is now even more dire than when he did his first major research project on it in the 1980s. Most significant is the huge jump in the number of Māori women sent to jail. They currently make up more than 60 per cent of the female prison population. There is also the on-going refusal to remedy or prevent the massive damage done by sending young Māori children into a state care system that forces them into a pipeline that ends up in jail. The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the treatment of state wards will perhaps provide some answers to this.
At the dinner on the Thursday night, one of the speakers was Tūheitia Paki, the Waikato-Tainui king. I will report on this in more detail at our hui-ā-marama.
3. Fourth Diplomatic Mission to Shanghai
Once again, we were treated to quite exceptional hospitality and manaakitanga on our visit to Shanghai to meet with Shanghai Cred. Our intrepid CEO, Ānahera Herbert-Graves, live-streamed substantial parts of the trip (for as long as her batteries lasted!) so that people could get a better sense of what is involved. Several places we visited we had not been to before, but others we had, and it was good to see familiar places. The new places included an overnight stay outside Shanghai in a traditional-style hotel, a boat tour and ballad singing in the local dialect, attending traditional Chinese opera, visiting the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts (a university partially funded by Shanghai Cred) and visiting the Science and Technology Museum (which was very crowded because of the school holidays).
Our meeting with Shanghai Cred’s owner, Mr Gui, went very well. He confirmed that he has no problem with waiting until everyone is OK with the proposed development at Karikari before proceeding. He talked to us about the other opportunities he has taken up in the meantime. We will report further on these at our hui-ā-marama.
Professor Margaret Mutu
23 September 2018