MEDIA STATEMENT

14 October 2016

Te Kāhui Kawenata

A hapū based redress and restitution pathway is currently being undertaken by Pewhairangi hapū,Ngāti Kuta, Patukeha, Ngāti Manu and Ngāti Rāhiri as the collective, Te Kāhui Kawenata.

At a recent meeting held 4 October 2016 in Whangarei, hapū kaumatua kuia, claimants and legal representatives confirmed a desire to maintain autonomy and independence throughout the settlement process. “We have agreed in principle to jointly negotiate our collective historical claims directly with the Crown. Our large natural grouping share interests, whakapapa and tikanga and this will lead to shared solutions” says Ngāti Kuta, Patukeha kaikorero, Shirley Hakaraia. “Our approach is a viable one for us as well as other hapū who wish to retain autonomy. They are welcome to join us. Our door is always open.”

Te Kāhui Kawenata sees strength in numbers and connection to other hapū as important values. Ngāti Kuta, Patukeha, Ngāti Manu and Ngāti Rāhiri tupuna who signed He Whakaputanga (1835) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840) did so upholding the mana of our hapū and tino rangatiratanga as the Report on Stage 1 of the Te Paparahi o Te Raki Inquiry (2014) clearly states:

The rangatira who signed te Tiriti o Waitangi in February 1840 did not cede their sovereignty to Britain. That is, they did not cede authority to make and enforce law over their people or their territories.

Though Britain went into the treaty negotiation intending to acquire sovereignty, and therefore the power to make and enforce law over both Māori and Pākehā, it did not explain this to the rangatira. Rather, in the explanations of the texts and in the verbal assurances given by Hobson and his agents, it sought the power to control British subjects and thereby to protect Māori. That is the essence of what the rangatira agreed to.

Kaikorero for Ngāti Manu, Arapeta Hamilton says Ngati Manu has consistently rejected Crown proposed settlement models as, “restrictive, divisive and in direct opposition to our sovereignty. Undue pressure from the Crown, and other groups who have received preferential funding, is a reality for us. But by following the example of our tupuna, and maintaining our mana and sovereignty, we can move beyond this unequal political landscape. Their example provides us with the ability to decide what negotiations with the Crown on our terms may look like.”

2016 Hui dates:

Hui-a- Hapu Ngati Rahiri ki Waitangi – 10:00 am – Saturday 15 October – Waitangi Marae

Hui-a-Hapu Ngati Kuta Patukeha – 11:00 am – Saturday 29 October – Te Rawhiti Marae

ENDS

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