18 June 2007

Release of Waitangi Tribunal Report into Te Arawa Mandate and Settlement

The government will consider carefully the recommendations of the Waitangi Tribunal's The Impact of the Crown’s Treaty Settlement Policy on Te Arawa Waka, Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Mark Burton said today.

"The release of the report will enable progress to continue towards a comprehensive settlement of claims of the iwi and hapū affiliated to Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa. The Crown is also committed to safeguarding the interests of those members of Te Arawa whose claims are not covered by the Affiliate Te Arawa settlement.

"It is the Crown's ultimate goal to conclude fair, comprehensive and durable Treaty settlements in a way that appropriately recognises the interests of all iwi and hapū of the Te Arawa waka," Mark Burton said.

The report makes a number of recommendations, which the Crown will now carefully consider, though some initial comment can be offered.

"The Affiliate Te Arawa settlement covers 24,000 people. Adult members of the iwi and hapū ratified the settlement in August 2006.

"The iwi and hapū covered by the settlement made their own decisions concerning whether or not they would negotiate together, and the Crown respected those decisions.

"The Tribunal's report does not recommend that the Affiliate Te Arawa settlement should not proceed at this time. The report does, however, make a number of findings in relation to the redress offered to iwi and hapū affiliated to Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa over certain sites in and around Rotorua, suggesting that similar redress should be made available to non-affiliated Te Arawa groups at the nearest possible opportunity.

"After further consideration of the report I will be looking at ways in which the Crown can engage with non-affiliated Te Arawa groups in respect to their interests in these sites, while being careful to avoid unnecessarily delaying or destabilising the affiliate Te Arawa settlement.

"Like the Tribunal's recent Tamaki Makau Rau report, The Impact of the Crown’s Treaty Settlement Policy on Te Arawa Waka makes broad suggestions in respect of the Crown's policy for dealing with overlapping claimant groups. As part of my consideration of both of these reports, I will be looking at the Crown's policies and practices in this area.

"The Tribunal also suggests, as it did in the Tamaki Makau Rau report, that the Crown should prioritise negotiations with other Te Arawa groups ahead of other groups elsewhere in New Zealand who have engaged with the Crown in good faith, and are close to formally entering Treaty settlement negotiations.

"These suggestions will need to be considered carefully as they would represent a significant shift away from the current Crown approach and would lead to delays in settling claims where claimants are ready and willing to proceed to settlement.

"The changes in the Tribunal's approach to overlapping claims, which are evident in the two reports, will be considered carefully to determine to what extent the report's recommendations can be practicably applied."

ENDS

© Scoop Media