Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu
Land Claims Report for January – February 2014
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 Agrees to Settle Their Litigation Against Ngāti Kahu Mortgage Services Ltd
5. Appeal to the Supreme Court on Te Ana o Taite – under negotiation
6. Crown Trying to Steal Ngāti Kahu’s Forestry Rentals
Summary:
Our last Rūnanga hui recommended rejecting the Crown’s offer. The Minister of Māori Affairs has asked what we are doing about our claims.
Work on preparing our Deed of Partial Settlement for publication is progressing well. Editing of the first six chapters has been completed. The remaining chapters will be condensed significantly.
The application to the High Court for a judicial review of the Waitangi Tribunal’s refusal to issue binding recommendations or to review the deeds of settlement of Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāi Takoto is still being prepared. I had a useful discussion with a senior retired judge who was most encouraging.
The Ngāti Kahu Trust Board has agreed to settle the litigation it took in the High Court against Ngāti Kahu Mortgage Services Ltd.
We had a good meeting with Carrington Farms on 28 January. We are awaiting their response to our requests.
1. Offer from Crown to fully and finally extinguish Ngāti Kahu’s claims
Following presentation and discussion of the commercial analysis of the Crown’s settlement offer, the last Rūnanga hui agreed to recommend to Ngāti Kahu that the offer be rejected.
At a hui in Auckland, I was approached by Dr Pita Sharples, Minister of Māori Affairs, who asked me what was happening to our claims. I told him the offer had been sent out to the people for them to decide what to do with it. I also told him it is a very insulting offer.
2. Work on publication of the Ngāti Kahu Deed of Partial Settlement continues
Although there is still work to be done on Te Paatu’s hapū kōrero in general and on a couple of hapū in particular, the first six chapters have now been edited. Editing the last chapters will involve condensing them significantly and removing the legalese language.
I have received requests for the edited chapters and these have been sent out. Anahera has them available in the office or they can be sent out by email (without the photos).
3. Judicial Review of the Waitangi Tribunal’s Report – on-going
The application to the High Court for a judicial review of the Waitangi Tribunal’s refusal to issue binding recommendations or to review the deeds of settlement of Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāi Takoto is still being prepared. At an international symposium on indigenous legal systems, I spoke with a senior retired judge who knows our case well. He is pleased we are taking the Tribunal on judicial review and (like several other legal experts) considers it is the correct approach. He encouraged us to keep pursuing it.
4. Ngāti Kahu Trust Board Legal Action Against Ngāti Kahu Mortgage Services Ltd
On 13 February the Ngāti Kahu Trust Board agreed to settle this matter out of court. As such the hearing scheduled for 17-19 February did not take place. We are currently awaiting the formal settlement agreement document.
5. Application to the Supreme Court on Te Ana o Taite – under negotiation
Te Whānau Moana met with the new owners of Carrington Jade on 28 January. It was a good meeting and a series of requests were put to the directors. Provided Carrington surrenders the resource consents to build on Te Ana o Taite and they take action to properly protect the ana and other wāhi tapu, we will not need to go to the Supreme Court.
These and other requests are currently under consideration by senior management of Carrington, although the Chinese New Year has intervened. If they do agree to any/all of this, they want us to support their proposed development in return. We expect a response when they return from the break.
6. Crown Trying to Steal Ngāti Kahu’s Forestry Rentals
I reported at our last hui that the Office of Treaty Settlements is trying get our share of the accumulated rentals held by the Crown Forestry Rental Trust because we have not settled. They want it to be held by the Public Trust until Ngāti Kahu agrees to fully and finally settle all our claims. I have written and told them that this in totally unacceptable and they are not to do it. It would be out of character for them to take any notice of what we say when we disagree with them.
I have spoken to Traci Houpapa, chair of the Federation of Māori Authorities, who is represented on CFRT. She undertook to get their representative to oppose this move. I also spoke to Sir Eddie Durie who is one of the New Zealand Māori Council representatives on CFRT. He advised that until now the Crown members of the CFRT have managed to successfully breach several legal requirements because Māori members of the CFRT have voted to support the Crown instead of Māori. He has taken the matter to the High Court to make the CFRT comply with its own legislation.
Professor Margaret Mutu
20 February 2014