Press Release

Maori Call For The Right To Have Their Own Indigenous Structures For the Treaty Claims Process

Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Kauwhata and Nga Iwi o Te Reureu are calling for their right to have their own Treaty Claim process when dealing with their land and resource claims, they question the Crown designed Treaty claims process.

The Judicial Conference held by the Waitangi Tribunal and hosted at Raukawa Marae in Otaki yesterday, heard strong submissions from these tribal representatives.

Spokesperson for Te Runanga o Raukawa, Te Waari Carkeek is calling for the right to have their own indigenous processes to hear Treaty claims.

He claims that it will be far more fiscally responsible and far better aligned with their traditional ways of working together and above all that it will be mana enhancing for our people the claimants.

Under the United Nations Convention The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Te Waari Carkeek claims that indigenous peoples have the right to design their own indigenous institutions and processes when dealing with the development of their people.

Many big law firm lawyers such as Kensington Swan, Rainey Collins and others as legal representatives for some Maori claimants attending the judicial conference may not agree. However, the position presented by Raukawa spokespersons came as a wake-up call to some lawyers in attendance at the 400 strong hui.

The lawyers insisted to Judge Layne Harvey that they should have the right to respond to comments from Raukawa representatives such as,

“We need to develop our Treaty claims process so that our people can be a part of a process that finds solutions for their own iwi development instead of paying huge amounts of legal aid payments to big established law firms to make money out of our grievances, we have our own people who are lawyers, they whakapapa back here and are part of our development”

Judge Layne Harvey has allowed the lawyers to make written submissions on such comments .

Mr Dennis Emery Chairperson for Nga Kaitiaki o Ngati Kauwhata said they have an alternative process that they insist the Crown should welcome and embrace. “This alternative process he says, is

“Mana enhancing and is based on our tikanga, our language our people and our dreams to develop and survive as a distinct people unique to Aotearoa, we are after all the claimants before the Waitangi Tribunal, the forum could be shaped by us in collaboration with the Crown, this after all is true partnership, what the Treaty intended, it should be our design, we are the tangata whenua here and it is for us to design not solely for the Crown or its agencies to dictate to us how the claims process should be. We have our own indigenous processes which are mana enhancing for all our people and nothing to do with big law firms making money out of our grievances”

All communications should be made directly with the following spokespeople for Ngati Raukawa and Ngati Kauwhata.

ENDS

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