Waikato River settlement signed w Waikato-Tainui
Hon Christopher
Finlayson
Minister for Treaty of
Waitangi Negotiations
17
December 2009 Media Statement
Waikato River
deed of settlement signed with Waikato-Tainui
The Crown and Waikato-Tainui today signed a revised deed of settlement in relation to their historical Treaty claims over the Waikato River, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Christopher Finlayson announced.
“Earlier this year we approached Waikato-Tainui about seeking more effective and economically efficient arrangements for delivering the overarching purpose of their 2008 settlement, which is to restore and protect the Waikato River environment,” Mr Finlayson said. “I am very pleased we have reached this goal and want to acknowledge the efforts of the Waikato-Tainui co-negotiators Tukuroirangi Morgan and Lady Raiha Mahuta.”
The Crown and Waikato-Tainui signed a deed of settlement in August 2008, providing a $210 million clean-up fund and co-governance over the river environment. The revised deed streamlines the co-governance arrangement and retains the clean-up fund.
The revised deed establishes a single co-governance entity, the Waikato River Authority. (The previous arrangement provided for six statutory boards.) The Authority will be made up of equal numbers of Crown and iwi appointed members, including other iwi with interests along the river. It will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of a direction setting document, the Vision and Strategy, Te Ture Whaimana.
“This settlement reflects the values local iwi share with all New Zealanders,” Mr Finlayson said. “Its firm focus is on restoring the health of the Waikato River, which is vital for the economic, environmental, and recreational goals of the region and the country.”
The vision and strategy will form part of the Waikato Regional Policy Statement and be given effect through the plans administered by regional and territorial authorities along the river. The settlement also provides for joint management agreements between Waikato-Tainui and the local authorities; participation in river-related resource consent decision-making; recognition of a Waikato-Tainui environmental plan; provision for regulations relating to fisheries and other matters managed under conservation legislation and an integrated river management plan.
“The process is about moving forward together,” said Mr Morgan. “The key for Waikato-Tainui is to ensure the integrity of the settlement signed in 2008 is protected and enhanced.”
“We have spent a great length of time to ensure the co-management arrangements have been greatly enhanced and the vision and strategy, Te Ture Whaimana was at the highest level of recognition,” Lady Mahuta said. “I’m confident that this gives us a better starting point. Waikato-Tainui trusts that other river iwi are able to benefit from this enhanced model.”
Mr Finlayson
acknowledged the input of local authorities and key
stakeholders in the Waikato who provided valuable
perspectives throughout the negotiation
process.
--
Summary of the Waikato River
Settlement
Overview
The
Waikato River Settlement is the final settlement of all
Waikato-Tainui’s historical claims relating to the Waikato
River resulting from acts or omissions by the Crown prior to
21 September 1992 and includes:
• An agreed
historical account and Crown acknowledgements;
•
A commitment by the Crown and Waikato-Tainui to enter a new
era of co-management over the Waikato River;
•
The Crown’s recognition of the significance of the Waikato
River to Waikato-Tainui; and
• Arrangements for
the Waikato River comprising:
a primary,
direction-setting document for the Waikato River called
‘The Vision and Strategy’ or ‘Te Ture
Whaimana’;
the establishment of a new
co-governance entity, the Waikato River Authority;
the establishment of a clean-up trust for the Waikato
River;
co-management arrangements for
Waikato-Tainui; and
recognition and provision
for river-related customary activities undertaken by members
of Waikato-Tainui.
• Provision for a cultural
harvest plan;
• The Kiingitanga Accord and
other accords as agreed in the 2008 settlement; and
•
Other provisions including the gifting to Waikato-Tainui of
sites of significance, provision for co-management of
river-related land, a commitment to engage over dispositions
and the rights of first refusal in relation to the Huntly
power station and a coal mining licence as agreed in the
2008 settlement.
The benefits of the settlement will be
available to all members of Waikato-Tainui wherever they
live.
Crown
acknowledgements
The Crown acknowledges that
its past dealings with Waikato-Tainui in relation to the
Waikato River breached the Crown’s obligations under the
Treaty of Waitangi. These include:
• The Crown’s
raupatu (invasion and war by land and by the Waikato River,
and subsequent confiscation of Waikato lands) in the 1860s
which denied Waikato-Tainui their rights and interests in
the Waikato River;
•
• The failure of the Crown
to respect, provide for and protect the special relationship
Waikato-Tainui have with the River; and
• The
degradation of the River that has occurred while the Crown
has had authority over the River causing distress to
Waikato-Tainui.
Background
The
Waikato River claim arose from the Crown’s raupatu
(confiscation) in the 1860s which denied the rights and
interests of Waikato-Tainui in the Waikato River. The river
claim was excluded from the 1995 land settlement with
Waikato-Tainui and was set aside for future
negotiation.
Terms of Negotiation
for the Waikato River claim were signed by the Crown and
Waikato-Tainui in December 2005, and negotiations have been
ongoing. An Agreement in Principle was signed on 16 December
2007.
Representatives of the Crown and Waikato-Tainui signed a Deed of Settlement to settle the historical claims of Waikato-Tainui over the Waikato River on 22 August 2008.
In 2009 the Crown decided to review aspects of the co-management arrangements for the Waikato River to assess whether it was possible to do better and, with the agreement of Waikato-Tainui, appointed an advisory panel.
Following an advisory panel’s recommendations, Waikato-Tainui and the Crown agreed to the enhanced co-management arrangements.
The key aspects of the new arrangements are as follows:
• a vision and strategy
document which will have special and unique legislative
status as the primary direction-setting document for the
river;
• a single co-governance entity;
and
• joint management agreements
•
The
revised Deed supersedes the 2008 deed and contains the terms
of the settlement between the Crown and Waikato-Tainui in
relation to the Waikato River.
All other aspects of the
existing 2008 Deed of Settlement for the Waikato River
remain unaffected.
Primary River Document:
Vision and Strategy
The Vision and strategy
is the primary document for the Waikato River. It focuses on
restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of the
river for future generations.
It
will be:
• incorporated directly into the Waikato
regional policy statement
• reviewed by the new
Authority to add targets and methods as
necessary
• given effect under the Resource Management
Act 1991 and conservation legislation
• given the
status of a statement of general policy under conservation
legislation
Waikato River
Authority
The new arrangements provide for a
single entity to be called the Waikato River Authority
established through the settlement legislation with 50:50
Crown-Māori membership with one Crown member nominated by
Environment Waikato and one nominated by relevant
territorial authorities.
Its purpose will be
to:
• provide direction through the vision and strategy
to achieve the restoration and protection of the health and
wellbeing of the Waikato River for future
generations;
•
• promote an integrated, holistic
and co-ordinated approach to the implementation of the
vision and strategy and the management of the Waikato River;
and
•
• fund rehabilitation initiatives for the
Waikato River in its role as trustee for the Waikato River
Clean-Up Trust.
Co-management
agreements
Co-management agreements
comprise:
1.
• joint
management agreements
• participation in
specific and defined river-related resource consent
decision-making
• recognition of a
Waikato-Tainui environmental plan
• provision
for regulations relating to fisheries and other matters
managed under conservation legislation; and
•
an integrated river management plan
Customary
Activities
The arrangements under the deed
will provide direct statutory mechanisms to recognise and
exempt customary activities that are fundamental to the
relationship Waikato-Tainui has with the river.
Cultural Harvest
The
settlement legislation will permit Waikato-Tainui to
authorise iwi members to harvest flora material for cultural
purposes in accordance with an agreed flora cultural harvest
plan.
Kiingitanga Accord
The
Kiingitanga accord between Waikato-Tainui and the Crown sets
out the joint commitments of the parties to an enhanced
relationship, to support integrated co management and to
protect the integrity of the settlement.
The Accord includes commitments to:
• develop and agree
portfolio-specific accords with the Minister of
Conservation, Fisheries, Land Information, Environment,
Arts, Culture and Heritage, Local Government, Agriculture,
Biosecurity, Energy and with the Commissioner of Crown
Lands; and
•
• explore accords between
Waikato-Tainui and other Ministers and agencies after the
deed is signed, and to support Waikato-Tainui to establish
memoranda of understanding with councils and other relevant
agencies.
•
Other
provisions
Gifting of sites of
significance:
The arrangement provides for the
gifting of 15 specified sites of cultural significance.
Gifting of lands held by the Ministry for the
Environment
Defined parcels of land administered by
Environment Waikato for soil conservation and river control
purposes will be gifted to Waikato-Tainui. Waikato-Tainui
will transfer back key sites to Environment Waikato who will
continue to manage them for soil conservation and river
control purposes.
Other Crown-owned river-related
lands
The arrangements will include a list of other
Crown-owned river-related lands that will be subject to
co-management arrangements with Waikato-Tainui.
Right of first refusal over the leasehold estate in the Huntly power station and right of first refusal over mining licence
The right of first refusal in the 2008
settlement will remain in respect of
both.
Questions and
Answers
What is the total cost to
the Crown?
The financial package provides
for:
• Sir Robert Mahuta
Endowment the Crown will make an up front
contribution of $20 million to the Waikato Endowed Colleges
Trust;
• River initiatives
funds The Crown will provide $50 million as a fund
for initiatives to restore and protect the relationship of
Waikato-Tainui with the Waikato River (including its
economic, social, cultural and spiritual relationships) and
the protection and enhancement of significant sites,
fisheries, flora and fauna (in the lower reaches of the
Waikato River). This fund and the endowment were provided
for in the 2008 settlement; and
•
Co-governance funding the Crown will
provide $1 million per year for 30 years to fund the
Waikato-Tainui’s participation in the co-governance
processes in this settlement.
To help enable the
restoration and protection of the Waikato River, the Crown
has committed $7 million per year for 30 years to a
contestable clean-up fund to be administered by the
Authority.
Is there any private land
involved?
No. No private properties are included
in the settlement.
Are the public’s rights
affected?
No. The settlement specifically
provides for public access to the Waikato River while
protecting and enhancing the health and wellbeing of the
Waikato River. Waikato-Tainui will not own the
River.
Are any place names
changed?
No
How does this relate to
the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu (or ‘Land’) claim settled in
1995?
The Waikato River claim arose from the
Crown’s raupatu (confiscation) in the 1860s which denied
the rights and interests of Waikato-Tainui in the Waikato
River. The river claim was excluded from the 1995 land
settlement with Waikato-Tainui and was set aside for future
negotiation. This negotiation is now
complete.
Why is there a separate Deed of
Settlement for the Waikato River?
The Crown and
Waikato- Tainui previously agreed to separate the land and
river negotiations. The Waikato River Settlement is not an
enhanced aspect of the 1995 Settlement. It is a separate
part of Waikato-Tainui’s settlement which has now been
completed.
How does this relate to the
Waikato-Tainui River Deed signed on 22 August
2008?
This Deed supersedes the 2008 Deed. The
Government approached Waikato-Tainui in 2009 with a proposal
to review the arrangements regarding the model negotiated in
2008. While much of the Deed remains the same, the key
differences in the revised deed include a single
co-governance entity (the Waikato River Authority); removing
the statutory boards, and introducing joint management
agreements between iwi and councils.
Does the
settlement create any special rights for
Waikato-Tainui?
The settlement enables
Waikato-Tainui to have a high-level governance role for the
Waikato River. In practice, this means decisions about how
the river will be managed will be in conjunction with local
authorities. Waikato-Tainui will not have veto rights over
the river’s management.
How does this
settlement affect other river iwi?
Other iwi on
the Waikato River will be represented on the Waikato River
Authority and will participate in the co-governance
arrangements. These iwi are Raukawa, Te Pumautanga o Te
Arawa, Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti
Tuwharetoa.
Will the settlement affect any
recreation on the river such as boating or rowing, swimming
or fishing?
No. Recreational activities on the river will continue under current laws. Over time as the health of the river is restored, all of these activities should be enhanced by the agreement.
Will the settlement affect trout fishing or its management?
No. Sport fish and sport fishing are not affected.
Will the agreement affect dairy-farmers or the hydroelectric dams on the river?
The agreement is designed to involve a
wide range of community representatives in the clean up of
the river. The Waikato communities, including farmers and
other stakeholders, agree that the health of the river is
important.
Does Waikato-Tainui have the right to
come back and make further claims about the behaviour of the
Crown in the 19th and 20th centuries?
No. Both
parties agree that the Deed of Settlement is fair in the
circumstances and will be a final settlement for all the
historical (pre-1992) Waikato River claims of
Waikato-Tainui. The settlement legislation, once passed,
will prevent Waikato-Tainui from re-litigating the claim
before the Tribunal or the courts.
The settlement package
will still allow Waikato-Tainui or members of Waikato-Tainui
to pursue claims against the Crown for acts or omissions
after 21 September 1992, including claims based on the
continued existence of aboriginal title or customary rights.
The Crown also retains the right to dispute such claims or
the existence of such title rights.
Who benefits
from the settlement?
All members of
Waikato-Tainui, wherever they
live.
ENDS