Three Hauraki (and Coromandel) iwi marked the end of a 15-year journey on 13 May as their Treaty settlement bills passed their final reading in Parliament, delivering formal Crown apologies, more than $20 million in redress, and the return of dozens of cultural properties across the Coromandel and Hauraki Plains.
The bills covering Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, Ngāti Tara Tokanui and Ngāti Hei completed their parliamentary passage on 13 May, with Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith describing the moment as a reflection of “the commitment, resilience, and determination” of all three groups. Each iwi sat through generations of waiting before reaching this point, with formal negotiations only beginning in 2011 after decades of preparatory work and historical research.
Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, based around Te Aroha, will receive $5.5 million in financial and commercial redress, 17 individual and two joint cultural redress properties, and the right to purchase two commercial properties from the Crown.
Ngāti Tara Tokanui, whose rohe sits around Paeroa, will receive $6 million along with seven individual and two joint cultural redress properties, and a two-year right to purchase the Paeroa College school site if it becomes surplus.
Ngāti Hei, whose territory stretches along the eastern Coromandel from Onemana to Whangapoua and out to Ahuahu (Great Mercury Island) and Cuvier Island, will receive the largest of the three packages at $8.5 million, alongside 15 individual and two joint cultural redress properties and three commercial properties available for purchase.
Each of the three settlements includes an agreed historical account, Crown acknowledgements of Treaty breaches, and a formal apology to the iwi. The accompanying redress packages include protocols with conservation, fisheries and heritage agencies, plus formal relationship agreements with the Department of Conservation that recognise mana whenua interests in conservation land. The financial redress is small relative to the size of better-known settlements such as Waikato-Tainui or Ngāi Tahu, reflecting the more limited size of the three iwi rather than any diminution of the historical harm.
In his statement to Parliament, Goldsmith said all three iwi “entered formal negotiations with the Crown in 2011 and have worked persistently and in good faith over many years to reach this point.” He added that “while no settlement can fully compensate for the Crown’s injustices towards Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, Ngāti Tara Tokanui and Ngāti Hei, I sincerely hope this redress will support these Hauraki iwi to strengthen their economic, cultural and environmental aspirations.” The Minister also said the Crown had formally acknowledged “the cumulative impacts of its historical breaches of te Tiriti” against the three groups, language consistent with similar settlement legislation passed under earlier governments.
The Informer spoke to Scott Simpson about the significance of the Treaty Settlement Bill passing its final reading. “ As the local Coromandel MP, I’ve seen the commitment, resilience and determination of the iwi and negotiating teams during that time.
“The Treaty settlement process is not a perfect one but the redress packages will help iwi strengthen economic development and create tools and resources for future generations rather than simply compensating for past losses.
“I’m encouraged by the opportunities these three local iwi will now have and what positive new initiatives will emerge not only for them but for our wider communities as well. That’s been the experience of earlier settlements in other parts of the country and I’m sure it will be here too.
“I had the privilege of speaking in the third reading debate and highlighting the historic conclusion of these settlement proceedings. A very large group of iwi representatives had travelled to Wellington for the occasion. It was a fitting and emotional final step in the legislative process that now marks a new beginning with a firm focus on the future.”
The three settlements close one of the longest-running chapters in the Hauraki Treaty negotiations process, but they do not exhaust the wider Hauraki collective settlement, which remains under negotiation and continues to involve complex overlapping interests with neighbouring rohe. Both Goldsmith and his Labour predecessors have signalled that the full resolution of the Hauraki collective remains a priority for the coming parliamentary term, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming election.
“There’s a lot of emotion. To call it a celebration would be the wrong word given the journey it’s taken to get here, the work that’s been done and everything involved and for Ngāti Tumutumu, this is part of the process to get our people back on our whenua,” Chair of the Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Trust, Daniel Braid says.
Sourced from Press Release, TCDC News update, Aukaha News AND MP Scott Simpson.
General time-frames and milestones
- March 2009 – The Crown initiates to settle the Hauraki iwi’s treaty claims by engaging Sir Douglas Graham to act as a facilitator and find a way forward.
- 2009 – The Hauraki Collective is formed to negotiate with the Crown
- October 2010 – A Framework Agreement signed by the Crown and the Hauraki Collective
- March 2011 – The 12 iwi within the Hauraki Collective mandate their negotiators to act on the iwi’s behalf and negotiations begin shortly thereafter.
- Late 2013-late 2016 – Signing of the ‘Agreement in Principles’ (AIP)
- 2017 – Signing of the Hauraki Deed of Collective and Individual Settlement. First was in May 2017 with Ngati Hei and the Crown initialling a deed of settlement which is now with the claimant group for ratification. You can read more about the details here.
- Late 2017 – Act of Parliament – “Hauraki Settlement Legislation”
