Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu
Land Claims Report for October 2020
1. Waitangi Tribunal – judicial review 27 November at Taipā
2. National Iwi Chairs Forum – 5-6 November 2020 in New Plymouth
1. Waitangi Tribunal – judicial review 27 November at Taipā
Just a further reminder about the matters to be addressed at the next judicial conference taking place on Friday, 27 November 2020 at Ramada Resort in Taipā starting at 10am:
a) the Outlines of Claims to be filed in October 2020 and the scope of the inquiry;
b) the existing evidence, whether more is required, and the scope and scale of any further research; and
c) the legal status of Dame Evelyn Stokes’s work in this inquiry, if the claims extend past 1865 (Wai 45, #R8).
On 20 October, our legal team sent the Outline of Claims to the Tribunal for the fifteen claims the Rūnanga represents. As requested by the Tribunal, the Outline summarise the nature of the allegations the claimants intend to make against the Crown, and the historical period to which those allegations relate. It also identifies, in relation to each claim, the sources of evidence upon which the claimant expects to rely and the nature of further evidence required.
2. National Iwi Chairs Forum – 5-6 November 2020 in New Plymouth
Te Atiawa, chaired by Liana Poutū, are hosting the Forum in New Plymouth in the Plymouth International hotel for 5th and 6th November. As usual, a number of our kuia will be in attendance.
The agenda papers have not yet been circulated but for Te Pou Tikanga, the main topic we will be addressing is progressing the report on constitutional transformation completed by Matike Mai Aotearoa in 2016. Te Hui Taylor, a member of the Rangatahi-ā-Iwi, undertook a project to interview a number of the chairs on their views of how the Rangatiratanga Sphere recommended in the report can be developed and to report her findings. One of her key recommendations is that the Forum formalises its status as the rōpū that facilitates the development of the Rangatiratanga sphere at the national level.
If the Forum accepts that recommendation, we will commence formal talks with a large number of bodies such as Māori Women’s Welfare League, Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust, Ngāti Kāpō and national Māori disabilities groups, LGBTQI+ communities, national Māori media bodies, Urban Māori bodies, Māori student bodies, Kapa Haka bodies and so on. Matike Mai Aotearoa’s initial work on constitutional transformation included these and many other bodies that we will need to talk to. Other matters covered in the Pou Tikanga report include
• Aotearoa Independent Monitoring Mechanism will attend the online Asia-Pacific meeting of United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on 1 December 2020 and present a brief synopsis of our 2020 report.
• Both the Office of Māori-Crown Relations and the Ministry of Justice have met with members of the Aotearoa Independent Monitoring Mechanism and are asking for assistance on their priorities for Māori. While the Mechanism is prepared to and can assist where priorities align with our priorities, the government does need to confirm that it has repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery before any progress can be made.
• We have received a request from the group Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono for help to be a Tiriti-based organisation (in the same way the Human Rights Commission sought help). This group was set up as a result of the Christchurch terrorist attack and is led by Anjum Rahman who was the spokesperson for Muslim women after that massacre.
Professor Margaret Mutu
25 October 2020