Treaty of Waitangi Update – Hakihea 2012

The Trustees have filed an application for an urgent hearing in the Waitangi Tribunal on behalf manawhenua ki Motueka.

Basis of complaint is that Crown has failed to deal with the entity Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga (TTKTT) mandated by the people to negotiate the resolution of our Treaty claims in good faith and in accordance with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, and is now in the proposed settlements agreeing tro transfer crown forestry lands (and related assets) that are part of the mana whenua ki Motueka.

We do not agree that the proposed settlement provides adequate redress for the historical aspect of our claims, or that forestry lands can be included in the settlements without the agreement of the resident iwi/mana whenua ki Motueka.

Within Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga (TTKTT), we anticpated that issues relevant to the wide-ranging losses associated with our land at Motueka would potentially be addressed by Ngati Raura and Te Atiawa iwi trusts on behalf of mana whenua ki Motueka and would include the return of customary land including Crown forest land, to the resident iwi of Motueka. We certainly did not anticapte that the iwi trusts would agree to the transfer of our customary land to iwi from outside the region such as Ngati Toa nor did we anticipate that they would agree to pay the Crown for our customary land.

We also anticipated that specific issues such as those relating to the imposition of the perpetual lease regime on Motueka land and other matters associated with the Tenths Reserves and Occupation Reserves in Motueka would be dealt with by the WAI 56 representatives and the Crown. This never occurred because the Crown refused to deal with WAI 56 representatives.

Until the perpetual lease issues in Motueka are resolved, the mana whenua ki Motueka will continue to experience financial losses and other costs associated with perpetual leased land, such as inability to use and access their land and discrimination.

We do not accept that the current proposed Treaty settlements will achieve justice or the full and final resolution of our Treaty claims.
The settlement of Te Tau Ihu claims simply will not be full and final until all of our Treaty grievances have been resolved.

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