On Saturday 3 September 2010, the Tribunal released its report Tauranga Moana, 1886–2006: Report on the Post-Raupatu Claims.

In stage 2 of its inquiry into Tauranga Moana claims, the Tribunal examined issues relating to the decades since the confiscation (the latter having been the subject of stage 1). Over 50 claims had grievances needing investigation in this second stage, including three claims from groups that had not appeared in stage 1, namely Ngati Mahana, Ngati Motai, and Ngati Hinerangi.

The Tribunal, consisting of Judge Stephanie Milroy (presiding), John Clarke, Areta Koopu, and Professor Keith Sorrenson, found that Tauranga iwi and hapu continued to lose significant amounts of land after 1886, notably through Crown purchasing, public works, pressures caused by actual and potential rates debt, and the processes of urbanisation and subdivision. The tangata whenua could ill afford to lose any land at all, and the scale of the loss has compounded the prejudice they suffered from the raupatu and its aftermath. Particularly disappointing was the lack of adequate protection or assistance for those groups that were left landless or nearly so. However, no group was totally unaffected by land loss.

Even where Maori managed to retain land, they faced considerable difficulty trying to develop it. To a large extent, the cause of this was the land tenure and administration system imposed by the Crown on Maori owners. While the Tauranga panel acknowledges that the Crown made efforts at times to assist Maori to overcome the disadvantages created, it is in no doubt that overall the Crown failed to provide the level of protection and support promised under the Treaty.

The Tribunal also found that rates have often been a particular problem for Maori land held in multiple ownership, and it recommended the introduction of new valuation legislation that is more consistent with the Treaty. The Tribunal looked at the planning legislation that had underpinned urbanisation and economic development over the years, concluding that such legislation had often failed to reflect Maori needs, perspectives, and aspirations, and it discussed the lack of political representation for Maori at the local level. It is only in recent years that legislation to encourage Maori participation in local government has been put in place, with Environment Bay of Plenty leading the way in creating Maori seats and electorates. The Tribunal commented that there needed to be much more vigorous pursuit of such policies if development sensitive to Maori views and aspirations were to flourish.

The Tribunal noted that, along with their loss of land, Tauranga Maori suffered reduced access to, and use of, traditional resources from the rivers, sea, and forests of Tauranga Moana. The intensification of economic activity and the accelerating pace of urban development also often led to degradation and pollution of those environments. Alongside that, development had endangered the cultural heritage of Tauranga Maori: despite some protections, many sites of cultural, spiritual, and historical importance had been modified or even destroyed. Where their environment and cultural heritage were concerned, the tangata whenua had to fight hard to maintain even a faint shadow of the tino rangatiratanga and kaitiakitanga they exercised at the time the Treaty was signed. The Tribunal recommended various ways by which the Crown could assist in restoring a measure of rangatiratanga to the iwi and hapu of the district.

In conclusion, the Tribunal found that the cumulative and interlinked effects of different Government processes and legislative provisions have created considerable prejudice to Tauranga Moana Maori, all too often marginalising them socially, culturally, and economically in the area that has for centuries been their home. Further, the economic marginalisation had resulted in lost opportunity costs that impacted on their ability to recover. Despite some improvements over recent years, Maori socio-economic statistics still lagged some way behind those of non-Maori. Looking forward, the Tribunal urged greater collaboration and information flow between various arms of Government in order to redress the prejudice suffered and to assist Maori in their future development. It recommended that the settlement of claims of Tauranga iwi and hapu be addressed as a matter of high priority, and it urged that substantial redress be made for post-1886 breaches, separately and in addition to redress for the raupatu. The Tribunal particularly stressed the importance of returning land wherever possible.

On Saturday 3 September 2010, the Tribunal released its report Tauranga Moana, 1886–2006: Report on the Post-Raupatu Claims.

In stage 2 of its inquiry into Tauranga Moana claims, the Tribunal examined issues relating to the decades since the confiscation (the latter having been the subject of stage 1). Over 50 claims had grievances needing investigation in this second stage, including three claims from groups that had not appeared in stage 1, namely Ngati Mahana, Ngati Motai, and Ngati Hinerangi.

The Tribunal, consisting of Judge Stephanie Milroy (presiding), John Clarke, Areta Koopu, and Professor Keith Sorrenson, found that Tauranga iwi and hapu continued to lose significant amounts of land after 1886, notably through Crown purchasing, public works, pressures caused by actual and potential rates debt, and the processes of urbanisation and subdivision. The tangata whenua could ill afford to lose any land at all, and the scale of the loss has compounded the prejudice they suffered from the raupatu and its aftermath. Particularly disappointing was the lack of adequate protection or assistance for those groups that were left landless or nearly so. However, no group was totally unaffected by land loss.

Even where Maori managed to retain land, they faced considerable difficulty trying to develop it. To a large extent, the cause of this was the land tenure and administration system imposed by the Crown on Maori owners. While the Tauranga panel acknowledges that the Crown made efforts at times to assist Maori to overcome the disadvantages created, it is in no doubt that overall the Crown failed to provide the level of protection and support promised under the Treaty.

The Tribunal also found that rates have often been a particular problem for Maori land held in multiple ownership, and it recommended the introduction of new valuation legislation that is more consistent with the Treaty. The Tribunal looked at the planning legislation that had underpinned urbanisation and economic development over the years, concluding that such legislation had often failed to reflect Maori needs, perspectives, and aspirations, and it discussed the lack of political representation for Maori at the local level. It is only in recent years that legislation to encourage Maori participation in local government has been put in place, with Environment Bay of Plenty leading the way in creating Maori seats and electorates. The Tribunal commented that there needed to be much more vigorous pursuit of such policies if development sensitive to Maori views and aspirations were to flourish.

The Tribunal noted that, along with their loss of land, Tauranga Maori suffered reduced access to, and use of, traditional resources from the rivers, sea, and forests of Tauranga Moana. The intensification of economic activity and the accelerating pace of urban development also often led to degradation and pollution of those environments. Alongside that, development had endangered the cultural heritage of Tauranga Maori: despite some protections, many sites of cultural, spiritual, and historical importance had been modified or even destroyed. Where their environment and cultural heritage were concerned, the tangata whenua had to fight hard to maintain even a faint shadow of the tino rangatiratanga and kaitiakitanga they exercised at the time the Treaty was signed. The Tribunal recommended various ways by which the Crown could assist in restoring a measure of rangatiratanga to the iwi and hapu of the district.

In conclusion, the Tribunal found that the cumulative and interlinked effects of different Government processes and legislative provisions have created considerable prejudice to Tauranga Moana Maori, all too often marginalising them socially, culturally, and economically in the area that has for centuries been their home. Further, the economic marginalisation had resulted in lost opportunity costs that impacted on their ability to recover. Despite some improvements over recent years, Maori socio-economic statistics still lagged some way behind those of non-Maori. Looking forward, the Tribunal urged greater collaboration and information flow between various arms of Government in order to redress the prejudice suffered and to assist Maori in their future development. It recommended that the settlement of claims of Tauranga iwi and hapu be addressed as a matter of high priority, and it urged that substantial redress be made for post-1886 breaches, separately and in addition to redress for the raupatu. The Tribunal particularly stressed the importance of returning land wherever possible.

The Wairarapa ki Tararua report was released on Saturday 26 June 2010 at Te Ore Ore Marae, Masterton.[1] The three-volume report covers 17 claims filed by members of Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne hapū and other claimant groups.

The Tribunal panel consisted of Judge Carrie Wainwright (presiding), Professor Wharehuia Milroy, Dr Ranganui Walker, and Dame Margaret Bazley, and nine weeks of hearings were held between March 2004 and March 2005. The inquiry district, a covered the south-eastern corner of the North Island inland to the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges and northward the southern Hawke’s Bay.

In its report, the Tribunal found that Crown acts and omissions in this district constituted serious breaches of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. In the nineteenth century the Crown purchased too much Māori land too quickly and without regard to the inevitable plight of a Māori population left virtually landless in a part of the country where agricultural enterprise was the principal route to a good livelihood.

The Tribunal urged that Māori rights in and around Wairarapa Moana be recognised and given effect. In its view, the important and little-known history of Wairarapa Moana and Pouākani is a story in which all the credit for honour, reasonableness and restraint goes to the Māori actors, and little to either the representatives of the settler government of that time or indeed to the Wairarapa farmers who so resented Māori controlling the opening of the wetland to the sea.

The Tribunal considered that there is not enough muscle in the legislation governing the relationship between tangata whenua and local authorities, DOC, agencies involved in Māori heritage management, and the Ministry of Fisheries to enable Māori in the district to make their views count to an extent that is at all appropriate in Treaty terms. As a result, it is difficult for the district’s Māori population to exercise any meaningful influence over what goes on in their own locality.

The Tribunal was concerned that many important Māori heritage sites in the region are vulnerable. Some of the archaeological sites, especially in the south, are internationally significant, and it considered that the current regime for their recognition and protection is inadequate.

The Tribunal noted that it has not observed any Government response to its recommendations, first released in July 2009, for changes to the public works regime removing the legislative power to acquire Māori land compulsorily for public works.  It expressed the hope that this area of policy will soon get the attention it has so long been denied.

The Tribunal considered that Māori of this region have been sorely tested over a long period. Their small population and early colonisation left them struggling to assert their mana and identity in the face of a Pākehā majority that soon owned most of the land, made all of the decisions, and did not value Māori culture or language.

The Tribunal was concerned that te reo Māori has reached a very low ebb in this area. Māori language tuition is not easily accessible to most and is not even available to all Māori children, especially after early childhood. Improved access and more resources are necessary if the Crown is to make amends for the wrongs of the past.

The Tribunal recorded its strong impression of an improvement in the historically difficult relationship between the two tribes of this region, Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne, during the course of the inquiry. It expresses the hope that this will set the scene for a successful negotiated resolution of the Treaty breaches documented in its report.

This was to assist claimants and the Crown in negotiations concerning the return of the former Ōkautete School buildings situated near Homewood in the eastern Wairarapa. The Tribunal recommended that, having properly given back the Ōkautete School site to the local Māori community, the Crown should also give them the school buildings and schoolhouse located on the site. The advanced release also highlighted the panel’s broader finding that public works legislation should be changed to forbid the compulsory acquisition of Māori land in all but the most extreme situations. The Tribunal encouraged the Government to heed this finding in its review of aspects of public works procedures and legislation.

[1] Chapter 8, on public works takings, had previously been released in pre-publication format in July 2009.

The Wairarapa ki Tararua report was released on Saturday 26 June 2010 at Te Ore Ore Marae, Masterton.[1] The three-volume report covers 17 claims filed by members of Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne hapū and other claimant groups.

The Tribunal panel consisted of Judge Carrie Wainwright (presiding), Professor Wharehuia Milroy, Dr Ranganui Walker, and Dame Margaret Bazley, and nine weeks of hearings were held between March 2004 and March 2005. The inquiry district, a covered the south-eastern corner of the North Island inland to the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges and northward the southern Hawke’s Bay.

In its report, the Tribunal found that Crown acts and omissions in this district constituted serious breaches of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. In the nineteenth century the Crown purchased too much Māori land too quickly and without regard to the inevitable plight of a Māori population left virtually landless in a part of the country where agricultural enterprise was the principal route to a good livelihood.

The Tribunal urged that Māori rights in and around Wairarapa Moana be recognised and given effect. In its view, the important and little-known history of Wairarapa Moana and Pouākani is a story in which all the credit for honour, reasonableness and restraint goes to the Māori actors, and little to either the representatives of the settler government of that time or indeed to the Wairarapa farmers who so resented Māori controlling the opening of the wetland to the sea.

The Tribunal considered that there is not enough muscle in the legislation governing the relationship between tangata whenua and local authorities, DOC, agencies involved in Māori heritage management, and the Ministry of Fisheries to enable Māori in the district to make their views count to an extent that is at all appropriate in Treaty terms. As a result, it is difficult for the district’s Māori population to exercise any meaningful influence over what goes on in their own locality.

The Tribunal was concerned that many important Māori heritage sites in the region are vulnerable. Some of the archaeological sites, especially in the south, are internationally significant, and it considered that the current regime for their recognition and protection is inadequate.

The Tribunal noted that it has not observed any Government response to its recommendations, first released in July 2009, for changes to the public works regime removing the legislative power to acquire Māori land compulsorily for public works.  It expressed the hope that this area of policy will soon get the attention it has so long been denied.

The Tribunal considered that Māori of this region have been sorely tested over a long period. Their small population and early colonisation left them struggling to assert their mana and identity in the face of a Pākehā majority that soon owned most of the land, made all of the decisions, and did not value Māori culture or language.

The Tribunal was concerned that te reo Māori has reached a very low ebb in this area. Māori language tuition is not easily accessible to most and is not even available to all Māori children, especially after early childhood. Improved access and more resources are necessary if the Crown is to make amends for the wrongs of the past.

The Tribunal recorded its strong impression of an improvement in the historically difficult relationship between the two tribes of this region, Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne, during the course of the inquiry. It expresses the hope that this will set the scene for a successful negotiated resolution of the Treaty breaches documented in its report.

This was to assist claimants and the Crown in negotiations concerning the return of the former Ōkautete School buildings situated near Homewood in the eastern Wairarapa. The Tribunal recommended that, having properly given back the Ōkautete School site to the local Māori community, the Crown should also give them the school buildings and schoolhouse located on the site. The advanced release also highlighted the panel’s broader finding that public works legislation should be changed to forbid the compulsory acquisition of Māori land in all but the most extreme situations. The Tribunal encouraged the Government to heed this finding in its review of aspects of public works procedures and legislation.

[1] Chapter 8, on public works takings, had previously been released in pre-publication format in July 2009.

The East Coast Settlement Report is the outcome of an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing held in Wellington between 14 and 16 December 2009 into the Crown’s recognition of Te Runanga o Ngāti Porou’s (TRONP) mandate to negotiate and settle all historical Ngāti Porou Treaty of Waitangi claims. The Tribunal panel comprised Judge Craig Coxhead (presiding), the Honourable Sir Douglas Kidd, Kihi Ngatai, Tania Simpson, and Basil Morrison.

The three main claimants in the inquiry asserted they represented Ruawaipu, Uepohatu, and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti. All submitted that they, and those they claimed to represent, were not Ngāti Porou, and TRONP therefore had no valid mandate to represent them in settlement negotiations. The claimants argued that the Crown’s mandating process was flawed and sought a recommendation that the Crown delay the Ngāti Porou settlement negotiations until their historical claims had been inquired into by the Waitangi Tribunal.

TRONP, as a secondary party to these proceedings, argued that those identifying as Ruawaipu, Uepohatu, and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti were Ngāti Porou. The Crown submitted that TRONP had a valid mandate to negotiate all Ngati Porou historical claims within the East Coast inquiry district. The Tribunal did not inquire into matters of tribal identity but instead focused on the actions of the Crown in recognising TRONP’s mandate.

Having assessed the evidence and arguments of all parties, the Tribunal did not recommend that the Crown delay settlement with TRONP as requested by the claimants. The Tribunal concluded that the potential prejudice of delaying such a significant settlement would outweigh any possible prejudice to the claimants from having their claims settled without their specific consent. The Tribunal was also not convinced that the claimants commanded significant support compared with the support demonstrated by TRONP. The Tribunal was mindful of the fact that both the Crown and TRONP had suggested ways in which at least some of the claimants’ concerns might be addressed.

However, the Tribunal also noted flaws in the process followed by the Crown in recognising TRONP’s mandate. While the Tribunal did not consider that these flaws were so serious as to warrant recommending delaying settlement, it was concerned that they should not be repeated when the Crown seeks to negotiate and settle Treaty claims with other groups. The Tribunal therefore recommended a number of changes to the Crown’s mandate policies to enhance the durability of future settlements. The Tribunal urged the Crown to adopt these recommended changes and to ensure they are reflected in official documents outlining Crown settlement policy. These recommended changes included the following:

• OTS should call for submissions at the point that a proposed mandating strategy is submitted, as well as after a deed of mandate is received. This will allow claimants who have a vested interest in a settlement ample time to comment upon, oppose, or make recommendations on the strategy, as well as to inform the Crown of interested parties and allow it the opportunity to engage with them at an early stage in the process.
• The information provided as part of any mandating strategy must include:
  • the specific claims (Wai numbers) to be included in a proposed settlement;
  • a clear definition of the claimant community on an iwi, hapu, marae, and whakapapa basis; and
  • the specific geographical area to be covered by a proposed settlement.
• OTS should, at an early stage, write to all Wai number claimants whose claims might be extinguished if a proposed settlement goes ahead, informing them of this fact. The earlier in the process claimants know what is being proposed, the earlier they can support or oppose negotiations. Furthermore, the Crown could insist that the negotiating committee formed after the mandating process inform all those affected by the proposed settlement on a regular basis when milestones are reached in its negotiations with Crown officials.
• The Crown should adopt a more proactive role in monitoring developments during the mandating strategy process. While we understand and acknowledge the Crown’s reluctance to intervene in disputes over which claims are to be included in a mandating strategy, it also has a responsibility towards claimants who may feel marginalised as a result of the process.
• The Crown has a responsibility to ensure that all interested parties in a negotiated settlement have access to unhindered participation at every stage of the mandating process. This will lessen the likelihood of claimants seeking recourse to urgency proceedings with the Tribunal and ensure that settlements are conducted in a fair and open manner.
• OTS should update its policy guide, ‘Ka Tika a Muri, Ka Tika a Mua’, to reflect changes that have arisen out of the recommendations of the ‘Te Arawa Settlement Process Reports’ and the ‘Tamaki Makaurau Report’, as well as the recommendations of the present inquiry.

This short report concerns a claim about the inclusion of Ngā Wairiki in the proposed Ngāti Apa Treaty settlement.