Media release – for immediate release – 16 November 2012

Rangitane Deed of Settlement on Hold

Plans to sign a Deed of Settlement with Manawatu iwi Rangitane have been placed on hold after members of the iwi protested they had been excluded from effective participation in the settlement process.

Members of Ko te Pou Marangatahi o Rangitane ki Manawatu met with Treaty Negotiations Minister, Hon Chris Finlayson and Whanau Ora Minister, Hon Tariana Turia to discuss their concerns. The group says the Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS) wrongly supports the authority of Tanenuiarangi Manawatu Incorporated (TMI) a Maori Urban Authority established in the late 1990's as legitimate claimants to the settlement.

Brigitte Te Awe Awe-Bevan spokesperson for the group says, "Rangitane whakapapa is being re-written and distorted, as TMI has inserted Ngati Apa into the whakapapa, claiming they are Rangitane. Ngati Tauira is now a hapu of Rangitane for the purpose of the settlement. This is completely wrong, and not our history".

In the event that the proposed settlement is to proceeed members of Rangitane wish to inspect the documents constituting the proposed Post Settlement Governance Entity (PSGE). Proper and free access to the PSGE has so far been denied to the group. The OTS has told the group the PSGE documents can only be viewed under the surveillance of OTS officials, cannot be copied and that only handwritten notes can be taken.

Ko te Pou Marangatahi o Rangitane ki Manawatu lodged an application for an urgent hearing with the Waitangi Tribunal in March 2012 which was subsequently denied on the grounds of budgetary constraints. The various merits of the group's application were not addressed.

The group's members include whanau of the sole remaining customary marae, Rangimarie just south of Palmerston North, and leading Rangitane families which include that of Sir Eddie Durie, Former Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court and Chair of the Waitangi Tribunal.

The group has yet to hear back from the Treaty Negotiations Minister who is taking an in-depth look at the groups concerns.

ENDS

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