Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith during his appearance at the Māori Affairs select committee at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith during his appearance at the Māori Affairs select committee at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A Treaty settlement with Te Whānau-ā-Apanui that was near completion is now “increasingly unlikely” under this Government as Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith seeks to remove a clause agreed to by the previous Labour government.
The iwi say they are at a “stalemate” with the Crown over the clausewhich agrees to disagree over who holds sovereignty.
Goldsmith has said the Government will not move on its position that the Crown is sovereign while Te Whānau-ā-Apanui is never expected to budge, as that would be perceived as a cessation of its own sovereignty.
The Herald understands the iwi views Goldsmith’s move as an unprecedented backtrack on an already initialled deed and that a settlement under this Government would be very difficult if not impossible.
In particular, the Herald understands the iwi is disappointed the minister publicised a matter relating to ongoing negotiations without warning the iwi beforehand.
In a letter to iwi members, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui said Goldsmith had called off the signing of the deed a couple of days before it was due to happen in June 2024 as he sought to better understand the deed, which was drawn up under Labour.
Last week, Goldsmith told a parliamentary select committee the Government was not comfortable with the sovereignty clause and was not prepared to progress the settlement without that being removed.
Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith. Photo / Dean Purcell
“It makes it difficult in the sense that you’re signing up to a full and final settlement, but the entity fundamental doesn’t acknowledge the authority of the Crown to do it in one respect, and we weren’t comfortable with that," he said.
“The Crown’s position is clear; the Crown is sovereign. The Crown is simply the representation of the democratic will of the people of New Zealand.”
Since Goldsmith’s remarks on the Government’s stance on sovereignty clauses, Pita Tipene, a leader of Far North iwi Ngāti Hine, has ruled out a settlement under this Government, calling it now impossible.
Te Whānau-ā-Apanui is disappointed Goldsmith publicly aired his desire to remove the clause when the parties have a hui planned in July to discuss the issue. That hui is still expected to go ahead.
In the letter to iwi members, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui said its negotiations table remained open to the Crown but it would not seek a settlement “at all costs” or at the “price of our rangatiratanga”.
“We will settle our historical grievances with a government that is prepared to be honourable - it looks increasingly unlikely it will be this one.”
The iwi said it had expressed to the minister its disappointment that he had made public comments on an ongoing negotiation “effectively making any further exploration of that issue unworkable with this government”.
Goldsmith confirmed to reporters on Tuesday he had received a letter from the iwi, saying they “weren’t particularly happy” but that negotiations were ongoing.
In the letter to members, Apanui said they were alerted to the Government’s position on the sovereignty statements in December last year. The parties had tried to find a solution but none were viable as each option required Apanui to move from its historical position that sovereignty was never ceded.
Apanui said it had responded to the Government, saying the statement was integral to their settlement and it did not require either party to accept the position of the other.
“The very point of the statements was to preserve the positions of each party so these important constitutional issues could be dealt with at a future time.
“It made explicit what most other iwi would consider implicit when they enter into a Treaty settlement.”
The iwi told members it would continue to explore options but the scope was now “extremely limited” given the iwi had already approved the deed as written and it did not have the authority of its hapū to move outside of that.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
