Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu
Land Claims Report for August 2012
1. Arrangements for hearing our application for binding recommendations 3-7 September, Karepōnia marae
2. Decision on applications for urgent hearings against Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāi Takoto Deeds of Settlement still awaited
3. Briefs of Evidence for Hearing our Remedies (Binding Recommendations) application have been filed
4. Attorney General (alias Minister of Treaty Negotiations) meeting with 27b memorial holders on 11 August inK aitāia
5. Meeting with Whangaroa Māori Trust Board on 16 August in Kaeo.
Summary
The pōwhiri for the Waitangi Tribunal will take place at Kareponia marae on Sunday
2 September. The hearing will start the next day and will run for five days.
Lloyd Pōpata is continuing to work with Karepōnia marae to help with the
organizing.
We have yet to receive the decision of the Tribunal on our applications for urgent
hearings against the deeds of settlement of Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāi
Takoto and the Crown, and on Te Aupōuri’s application to have Te Kani Williams
removed as counsel.
Briefs of evidence from an historian, a medical doctor, a forest valuer and an economist have now been filed with the Tribunal. Land valuations will be filed on 22 August.
·
Chris Finlayson, Minister of Treaty Negotiations, attempted to hold a closed meeting with occupiers of 27b memorialized land in Ngāti Kahu’s rohe on 11 August. A large number of our kuia and kaumātua managed to get into the meeting and challenge Finlayson.
·
We met with Whangaroa Trust Board in Kaeo on 16 September to let them know about our hearings.
1. Arrangements for hearing our application for binding recommendations 3-7 September, Karepōnia marae
The hearing for binding recommendations will take place at Karepōnia marae (SH10, Awanui). The timetable for the week is still unclear although the following is
confirmed:
Sunday 2 September 2012
2pm Pōwhiri for Ngāti Kahu
3.30pm
Pōwhiri for Waitangi Tribunal
Accommodation is available for Ngāti
Kahu at Mahimaru marae just along SH10 from Karepōnia marae.
Monday,
3 September 2012 (and each day until Friday 7 September)
9am Hearing
commences
5pm Approximate
close time for each day except Friday 4pm
There will be breaks during the day
for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.
A
detailed timetable will be available in the week before the hearing. It will
start with opening submissions from Ngāti Kahu’s counsel and be followed by the
presentation of evidence in chief by Ngāti Kahu. That will include the
technical evidence of our historian, economist, valuers and medical doctor.
They all focus on the damage done to Ngāti Kahu between 1840 and 1865. We will be
questioned by the Tribunal and cross-examined by counsel for the other
interested parties.
Each
of the other parties then gives their opening submissions, presents their
evidence and is questioned and cross-examined. The Crown’s witnesses, including
Pat Snedden and Office of Treaty Settlement staff and their various witnesses
will be heard, questioned and cross examined. They will be followed by Te
Aupōuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāi Takoto, and possibly Ngāti Kurī, supporting the
Crown. Other interested parties will follow. They are Chappie Harrison,
Pereniki Tauhara, Graham Latimer and Pairama Tahere.
The
Tribunal has indicated that all evidence filed is to be taken as read (it will
not be read out during the hearing) and only short summaries of the evidence of
less than 15 minutes will be permitted. All this evidence is available on Ngāti
Kahu’s website and runs to several hundred pages. After each person summarizes
their evidence they will be questioned by the Tribunal and cross-examined by
lawyers for the other parties. Ngāi Takoto have not engaged counsel and will
conduct their own cross examination.
The
Crown and its close allies Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāi Takoto will be
fighting desperately to stop Ngāti Kahu getting any binding recommendations. They
are arguing that Ngāti Kahu must abide by what the Crown has tried to dictate –
that is, that Ngāti Kahu must accept a Crown determined settlement that
extinguishes all Ngāti Kahu’s claims, including all those that have yet to be
heard because that is what Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāi Takoto have done. The
Crown wants the Tribunal to make non-binding recommendations – so that it can
ignore them. Because the Crown is so desperate to stop us we believe their
attack on Ngāti Kahu will be both underhanded and vicious, as we saw last
weekend when Chris Finlayson came to Kaitāia to meet 27b memorial holders.
Chappie
Harrison wants Rangiputa block returned to Ngāti Tara and not to all of Ngāti
Kahu. A resolution was passed at our last Rūnanga hui confirming that Te Whānau
Moana/Te Rorohuri and Patukōraha hapū, who are mana whenua in Rangiputa, have
instructed that Rangiputa is for all Ngāti Kahu. Likewise Matarahurahu has
indicated that Kohumaru is for all Ngāti Kahu.
Ngāti
Kurī, Graham Latimer, Pereniki Tauhara and Pairama Tahere (on behalf hapū of
Ngāpuhi in respect of Kohumaru) have not indicated what they want.
2. Applications
for urgent hearings against Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāi Takoto Deeds of
Settlement
Following
the Judicial Conference held in Auckland on 17 July, we have yet to receive the
decision of the Tribunal on our applications for urgent hearings against the
deeds of settlement of Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāi Takoto and the Crown and
Te Aupōuri’s application to have Te Kani Williams removed as counsel (see my
July report). We understand that the judge and the Tribunal are overwhelmed by
the huge workload they are carrying at the moment.
3. Briefs
of Evidence for Hearing our Remedies (Binding Recommendations) application have
been filed
The
following briefs of evidence have been filed and can be downloaded from the
Ngāti Kahu website:
·
A
summary of the evidence presented to the Waitangi Tribunal of the prejudice
suffered by Ngāti Kahu as a result of the Crown’s actions or inactions between
1840 and 1865. This was completed by Peter Burney, an historian.
·
Evidence
of the shocking state of health that Ngāti Kahu endures in our own territories.
This was prepared by Dr Lance O’Sullivan.
·
A
valuation of the trees in that part of Te Aupōuri forest that lies within Ngāti
Kahu’s territories with the exception of those south of Hukatere. This
valuation has been done because we are entitled to compensation up to 100% of
the value of the trees. The valuer, Indufor Ltd, has provided values ranging
from $15.1 million to $12.9 million.
·
A
valuation of the lands with 27b memorials and the Crown forest lands is due on
22 August. This is being prepared by Telfer Young.
·
The
final report on the cost of the damage done to Ngāti Kahu between 1840 and 1865
is also due on 22 August. This is being prepared by BERL.
Each
of these experts will appear before the Tribunal in the hearings to answer
questions arising from their reports.
4. Attorney
General (alias Minister of Treaty Negotiations) meeting with 27b memorial holders
on 11 August in Kaitāia
As
expected, the Crown has once again set about trying to whip up animosity
against Ngāti Kahu, this time amongst people with 27b memorials on land titles.
When the Tribunal notified these people of the upcoming hearing, the Minister
of Treaty Negotiations, Chris Finlayson, immediately followed it up with a
letter to these same people saying the Crown was totally opposed to what Ngāti
Kahu was doing and would fight us in the Tribunal. He then arranged a meeting
with the 27b holders in the middle of Ngāti Kahu territory in Kaitāia.
Unfortunately for him, one of the people he contacted brought the letter to our
office and we subsequently found out the time and place of the meeting.
A number
of our kuia and kaumātua attended the meeting even though police tried to stop
them going in. They then questioned Finlayson on the 27b memorials to ensure
that the 50 or so Pākehā who attended knew exactly why they were on their titles, where they came from and that it is the Crown who
has caused the problem by selling the land to them, not Ngāti Kahu. Our
kaumātua made it clear that these people had bought lands that had been stolen
from Ngāti Kahu and now it had to be returned to its rightful owners. By its
own laws the Crown has to resume the land under the Public Works Act if the
Tribunal orders it to, and pay out the 27b memorial holders full market value.
Although Finlayson tried hard to place blame on Ngāti Kahu, our kaumātua made
sure he did not do so without being strongly challenged. They also made it
clear to the Pākehā that Ngāti Kahu’s grievance was not against them, but
rather against the Crown. Ngāi Takoto’s negotiators were there to support the
Crown but did not say anything.
Our CEO,
Anahera Herbert-Graves, gave a report of the meeting in her weekly column in
the Northland Age offering to provide
information for those affected. One
of the 27b holders objected to one particular detail in her report but her
offer for them to contact her has been largely ignored.
5. Meeting with Whangaroa Māori Trust
Board on 16 August in Kaeo.
We had an
initial meeting with Nuki Aldridge, Kana Pourewa, Pat Tauroa and others of
Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa in the offices of the Whangaroa Māori Trust Board in
Kaeo on 16 August to let them know about our hearings and the lands we are
seeking binding recommendations over. The Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa Trust Board
chairperson had come to our Karikari marae meeting on 27 July to ask about how
to progress their claims.
Several
at the Kaeo meeting were pleased to hear that binding recommendations do not
include Whakaangi. They were however concerned that they included Kohumaru and
were clear that they have interests there (Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa Trust Board
advised us that they do not). We agreed to meet again before our hearing on a
day when Anne Batistich, Reremoana Renata and Matarahurahu can attend. Pai
Tahere has also indicated that his hapū have interests in Kohumaru as well. We
are hoping he can also attend the hui.
Professor Margaret Mutu
19 August 2012