9. TE URUROA FLAVELL (Māori Party—Waiariki) Link to this
to the Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations
He aha tā te Minita ka mahi, whai muri i te kupu whakatūturu a te Taraipiunara o Waitangi i te tahi o Here-turi-kōkā 2007, e kore e taea e ia te tautoko te whakataunga a Te Arawa e ai ki tōna āhua o nāianei, otirā, ki tā rātau tūtohutanga hoki e kī nei, hikia mō tētahi wā te whakataunga kei te whakatakotoria e rātau, kia puta rānō tērā ka hua mai i tētahi wānanga whakatau aratohu, mō te tohatoha i ngā whenua ngāherehere a te Karauna?
[What action is the Minister taking following the Waitangi Tribunal’s definitive statement of 1 August 2000 that it could not endorse the Te Arawa settlement in its current form, leading to its recommendation that the proposed settlement be delayed pending the outcome of a forum to decide on high-level guidelines for the allocation of Crown forest lands?]
Hon MARK BURTON (Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations) Link to this
Ministers are undertaking careful analysis of the report from which that statement comes, along with other recent tribunal reports. A key issue in our analysis is the consistency of recommendations and their implications for this settlement and other settlements.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Mā te aha ka taea e ngā iwi te whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro me te Karauna i raro i te pono me te tika i runga i ngā pānui a te Taraipiunara o Waitangi, arā, he āwangawanga anō wā rātau mō te āhua o tēnei tono kua tatū, ā, ka taka te āhua o te ngoikore ki runga i ērā iwi kāore anō kia tatū wā rātau tono, ā, tārewa tonu ngā tono i te rohe o Te Puku o te Ika a Māui?
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.]
[How can any iwi negotiate with the Crown in good faith, when the Waitangi Tribunal has reported again that “it has grave concerns regarding the potential negative impact of this settlement on overlapping iwi, and on the durability of future Central North Island settlements”?]
I think, as I indicated to the member, the complexity of some of the tribunal’s rulings and the apparent, in some cases, contradictions between them are matters that Ministers are looking at very carefully. But the member’s concern has to be reconciled with the fact that to reach the point that the group in question has reached required it to undertake a process of rigorous mandate acquisition. That mandate was tested not only with its own members but by the High Court and by the tribunal itself, and it has been upheld. I say to the member that the reverse of his question is: how would one maintain the confidence of claimants if the Crown turned its back on those who had engaged with it in good-faith negotiation following the tribunal report?
Dave HereoraHas the Minister received any advice from other claimant groups relating to the recent tribunal reports?
The Crown, as members may know, is actively engaged at various stages with over 20 claimant groups, and a number of those have expressed concern recently about any unnecessary delay to their negotiations—particularly those who have been properly mandated to undertake negotiations with the Crown by the people whom they represent. That further, I think, illustrates the challenge of fairly balancing the legitimate interests of different and complex claims.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Ka aro ake ia, kāore rānei ki ngā tohutohu a te Taraipiunara o Waitangi, kia kaua te Karauna e tohu ko ngā iwi e ngākaunuitia ana e ia ka mutu, ko te whakatau whāiti nei i ngā hiahia o ngā iwi, ā, ka ahatia ngā whakautu hei whakatika i ngā tikanga whakahaere?
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.]
[Will he ignore the advice of the tribunal that the Crown cannot continue to pick favourites and make decisions on tribal interests in isolation; if not, how will the response to such advice change the process?]
Frankly, I think the assertion that the Crown picked favourites is incorrect. The Te Arawa Kaihautū Executive Council, in the case we are discussing, and the people it represents made their own decisions in continuing in direct negotiations, as did those iwi and hapū who chose not to participate or to engage in the tribunal process. The Crown has endeavoured to respect each of those decisions: the decisions of those who have chosen to engage directly with the Crown, of those who have chosen not to, and of those who have chosen to engage with the tribunal.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Hei āhea ia whakatakoto mai ai i te ture whakatau kerēme ki te Whare nei hei kōkiri whakamua i te tono o ngā Kaihautū o Te Arawa mō ngā whenua ngāherehere o te Karauna 51,000 heketea te rahi?
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.]
[When is he intending to introduce legislation into the House to advance the settlement with Ngā Kaihautū o Te Arawa over the 51,000 hectares of Crown forestry lands?]