Hon Christopher Finlayson
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations

22 April 2009

Speech

Speech at Te Kōkiri Ngātahi National Hui to Progress Treaty Settlements

Rau rangatira mā
O ngā iwi o Aotearoa,
Kingi Tūheitia, me Tainui iwi,
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
Tēnā koutou katoa

E ngā tini mate
Haere, haere, moe mai

Ko Chris Finlayson tōku ingoa
Te Roia Matua
Te Minita mō ngā Whakaritenga Tiriti o Waitangi
Te Minita mo ngā Take Toi, Tikanga, Taonga Tuku Iho

Tēnei aku mihi mō te Kāwanatanga Nāhinara
Kia ora huihui tātou katoa

When I first worked as a lawyer on settlement issues I did not expect I would one day stand in front of such a distinguished gathering as the Minister for Treaty Negotiations.

I can think of no role in government that I would rather have, particularly when we are discussing how to complete the settlement process.

It is a position of great trust and great responsibility.

To reach our goal of settling historical claims by 2014 we will all have to think boldly and we will have to work together.

After slow progress for much of the last nine years Maori and the Crown made significant and valuable progress in the last 12 months.

This hui itself is called “te kokiri ngatahi” – moving forward together. By providing an end point for the injustices and reaching durable and just settlements, we can move forward as a country - together.

But we still have a long way to go.

My officials estimate we have to reach another 60 settlements before the historical settlements process will be complete. You can see what they are telling me in the coloured diagrams in the material handed out this morning.

The good news is that half of those are currently in the negotiation process.

But it is clear that we cannot reach our goal of 2014 using nothing but the existing methods. We will need a dramatic increase in the rate of settlements to achieve that.
Both Maori and the Crown will have to make evolutionary changes in the way we achieve settlements if that goal is to be attainable.

Our experience with settlements in the last 14 years gives us clues as to how we might proceed – both the Crown and Maori have learned valuable lessons from this experience.

Let me begin by talking about the positive lessons we have learned:

• All components of a settlement are valuable – the historical, cultural, financial and commercial parts of a comprehensive settlement all represent different ways of addressing grievances and breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles. Comprehensive settlements are the most effective way of repairing relationships.

• The Crown must provide comparable redress for comparable breaches of the Treaty or different groups will leave the settlement process with new and enduring grievances. Fairness between settlements is very important.

• Settlements are a Crown-Maori process and it is the exclusive responsibility of the Crown to provide redress for breaches of the Treaty.

• Settlements are more durable when all members of a settling group have the chance to appoint negotiators, receive information about their work and ratify any settlement package they have negotiated. There are a number of ways in which this can be achieved

This is not an exclusive list but it does, I think, reflect the real achievements of the settlement process since the first major settlement was signed with Waikato-Tainui in 1994. I think it may also be fair to say that this list represents common ground between Maori and the Crown.

Based on these lessons, I would repeat the Prime Minister’s view that we do not need a fundamental re-think of settlement policy generally but that there are important areas in which evolutionary change can lead to much faster momentum in the settlement process generally.

We have prepared a package of proposals which taken together have the potential to allow us to make major progress towards our goal. This package is not fully worked out – deliberately. We need to work together to develop it fully.

It concentrates on relationships between Maori and the Crown in the settlement process and how we can work together more effectively. The changes we propose include:

• Providing more opportunity for Maori to shape the nature of settlements and how they are carried out
• Providing assistance for problem solving by Maori about Maori issues such as overlapping claims
• Placing more focus on relationship managers appointed by the Crown to focus on the Crown-Maori relationship throughout the settlement process – the recent appointment of former Labour Cabinet Minister Paul Swain and former Treaty Minister Sir Douglas Graham are examples of how this will work.

We expect changes in these areas to achieve a number of things, including:

• Reduce the Crown’s role and free up resources for other negotiations
• Allow more groups to make progress in negotiations at any one time
• Provide more continuity in Crown contact with claimant groups
• Give claimants clear information about their choices

There are two more technical changes which could accelerate the process.

• An enhanced role for the Waitangi Tribunal – for example that mediation by the Tribunal be a requirement before granting urgency hearings
• Streamlined and more efficient settlement legislation – we have 70 settlement bills to pass to complete this process.

We also acknowledge that a swifter settlement process may cost more to run, at least in the short term. Providing adequate resources for a shorter and faster overall process may be more efficient and effective for both the Crown and Maori in the medium term.

Where do we go to from here?

Once you have looked at the proposals we have made today we will need to meet to discuss your views and any other suggestions you might make

You can make submissions as individual groups or support a more general response – or both.

The proposals are not “one size fits all”. Many build on recent experience and I am interested in whether you consider they could have wider application and if they require any modification. Some of the proposals will need wide spread support for them to be effective as if we are to implement the proposal it will affect all iwi yet to settle.

The impact of greater resources and autonomy for settling groups has been reflected in their increasingly strong and positive profile in the regions, a development that has been welcomed by those communities and, I believe, has contributed to the strong support we have received for our goal of completing the settlement process.

In the 1990s the burden of proof was on the supporters of settlements, Maori and Pakeha. Thanks to our experience with settlements since 1995 this is no longer the case.

In increasing the momentum of the settlement process we must make sure that this happy position is not undermined.

I look forward to your views and our next meeting.

ENDS

© Scoop Media