22 July 2010

For immediate release:

Waikato-Tainui Calls On PM To Show Courage Over Declaration On Rights Of Indigenous Peoples

Waikato-Tainui Te Arataura Chair Tukoroirangi Morgan today briefed United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya on the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act and associated issues.

In a presentation delivered at the Waikato-Tainui College for Research & Development, Mr Morgan said he was hopeful that the Government’s recent ratification of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples heralded a new era of reconciliation between the Crown and Maaori.

“Waikato-Tainui has finally been allowed to get up off its knees and stand tall once again, after the humiliation of the Raupatu of the 1860s,” said Mr Morgan.

“We applaud this Government’s decision to ratify the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but must also note with not a little sadness that not a single one of the recommendations contained on in the previous Special Rapporteur’s comprehensive review of New Zealand has been adopted by this, or the previous, government.

“The determinations of the Waitangi Tribunal should be granted legally binding powers to adjudicate Treaty matters and given more resources to do its work. The Treaty of Waitangi should be entrenched constitutionally. These were just three of the recommendations contained in the Report by Professor Anaya’s predecessor, back in 2006.

“If John Key is serious about building meaningful and lasting relationships with Maaori, these things should be done as first steps. It is not the time to rest on laurels, rather he needs to seize the opportunity and show courage.”

“Many iwi are still having to expend considerable resources to research and substantiate claims through the Waitangi Tribunal and even this tribe still has outstanding claims to be negotiated around Kawhia harbour and other inshore areas.

“We also echo UN Special Rapporteur James Anaya’s observation that debate around the Declaration must be ‘free from vague assertions that the Declaration is not obligatory’. (statement of UNSR Prof. James Anaya, 15 July 2010, attached)

“Self-determination and economic independence are not concepts to be feared by non-Maaori, but principles based on giving Maaori greater control over their own destiny,” said Tukoroirangi Morgan.

ENDS.

© Scoop Media