Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti KahuLand Claims Report for October 2013
1. Offer from Crown to fully and finally extinguish Ngāti Kahu’s claims
2. Work on publication of the Ngāti Kahu Deed of Partial Settlement continues
3. Judicial Review of the Waitangi Tribunal’s Report – on-going
4. Ngāti Kahu Trust Board Taking Legal Action Against Ngāti Kahu Mortgage Services Ltd
5. Appeal to the Supreme Court on Te Ana o Taite – on-going
Summary:
The Office of Treaty Settlements has finally released monies it has been holding back so that work can start on a commercial and strategic assessment of the Crown’s offer to extinguish our claims.
Work on preparing our Deed of Partial Settlement for publication is progressing well. I will meet with the publishers this week.
As previously reported our application to review the Waitangi Tribunal will depend on the instructions of whānau, hapū and marae in respect of the Crown’s offer.
The Ngāti Kahu Trust Board is still continuing with its action in the High Court against Ngāti Kahu Mortgage Services Ltd.
We are still awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court on our application for the protection of Te Ana o Taite.
1. Offer from Crown to fully and finally extinguish Ngāti Kahu’s claims
Further discussions in our September Rūnanga hui about the letter of offer from Minister Finlayson indicated that many people found it confusing and unclear. Work on answering some of the many questions being asked could not start until the Office of Treaty Settlements released monies it was holding back from Ngāti Kahu. That money has now finally been released and the work has started. Once we have the information in we will make arrangements with each marae to come and explain the offer and its implications.
2. Work on publication of the Ngāti Kahu Deed of Partial Settlement continues
Auckland University Press continues to be interested in publishing our Deed of Partial Settlement. I have a meeting with them this week to look at the draft and to consider how we are going to handle to huge number of photos we currently have in it (they are very expensive to reproduce). So I have been working on the draft we completed in 2011 to make sure all the information that needs to be in it is included.
I have been going back over all the very large number of interviews conducted by our Ngāti Kahu oral histories team (Janelle, John, Connie and Wīkātana Pōpata) and our communications team (Te Ikanui Kīngi-Waiaua, Lloyd Pōpata, Bardia Matiu and Hully Clarke) and including information provided to them by a large number of kuia and kaumātua into the Deed. There are quite a few real gems in this kōrero and I’ve really enjoyed going back over them all. There are some parts I need to ask questions about so don’t be surprised if one of the team comes back to you asking about certain points for those of you who contributed your kōrero.
I’ve also gone back through the briefs of evidence provided in our hearings at Karepōnia marae last year and in the Whangaroa hearings this year and included further information from them as well.
I will be circulating drafts of each hapū’s kōrero for checking once it’s all finally completed.
3. Judicial Review of the Waitangi Tribunal’s Report – on-going
The situation here once again remains unchanged from last month - Barrister Royden Hinden needs to know our decision on the Crown’s offer before he can continue preparing an application to the High Court for a judicial review of the Waitangi Tribunal’s refusal to grant us binding recommendations ordering the Crown to return some of our lands.
4. Ngāti Kahu Trust Board Taking Legal Action Against Ngāti Kahu Mortgage Services Ltd
The Ngāti Kahu Trust Board is still continuing with its action in the High Court against Ngāti Kahu Mortgage Services Ltd seeking to have the large debt it owes written off. We asked the Board’s solicitors to lodge money with the High Court as security for the costs they will incur if they lose. They were only able to offer a personal guarantee that they would pay us if they lose. We declined the offer. We have now asked the Court to order that security for costs be paid.
Just a reminder, the High Court has set down a hearing date for this matter for 17, 18 and 19 February 2014 in the High Court in Whāngarei.
5. Application to the Supreme Court on Te Ana o Taite
The situation here remains unchanged from last month - we are still awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court on our application for leave to appear before them on the matter of the protection of Te Ana o Taite. Our application seeks to have Carrington Farms and the Far North District Council adhere to the out of court settlement in which they both agreed that no development would take place within 800 metres of the mean highwater mark. That agreement protects Te Ana o Taite from desecration and prevents any building or development activity there. Carrington Farms will be free to build anywhere else to the landward side of the 800 metre setback.
Professor Margaret Mutu
29 October 2013