The Crown received a rap over the knuckles this week from the Waitangi Tribunal for failing to act in good faith in its dealings with iwi claimants over the future of the Rena wreck.
The final report on the MV Rena and Motiti Island Claims focused on the Crown's conduct in signing the deeds with the Rena owners in October 2012. It came four months after the release of an interim report on the Crown's consultation with Maori after it signed the three deeds.
As reported in the Bay of Plenty Times this week, the report supported claims from Motiti Rohe Moana Trust, Ngai Te Hapu Incorporated Society and the Mataatua District Maori Council - representing Maori who live on or affiliate to Motiti Island - that iwi were not included in crucial consultation regarding Rena's future. The report referred to selective filtering of information to local Maori and media. The latter finding should be a concern for everyone, not just iwi.
The report states that before and throughout the inquiry, the Crown relied on commercial confidentiality to limit the information available to Maori about its settlement with the Rena owners. Even though a clause in the agreement provides for any parties to disclose the deed in legal proceedings as evidence of its response to the grounding, the Crown refused. Yet, both the Crown and the Rena owners had selectively released significant details about the effect of the deeds publicly through the media.
It included a media statement from the Minister of Transport in September 2012 announcing a $10.4 million payment from Rena's owner and insurers Daina Shipping and the Swedish Club if they apply for, are granted and use a resource consent to leave part of the wreck in place.
The tribunal found the Crown's conduct before and after it entered the wreck removal deed has caused on-going prejudice to the claimants. It noted that this had been softened somewhat by the Crown submitting in partial opposition to the Rena owner's resource consent application.
What is important now is how the Government responds to this criticism and whether it takes on board the recommendations of the tribunal, which include the need for it to pay particular regard to how it can protect Maori interests in the resource consent process.
The tribunal noted its concern about the resourcing available to the claimants and that legal aid will not be sufficient to ensure they are fully involved in the resource consent process.
Deciding the fate of the Rena wreck was always going to be a David and Goliath battle. The Crown has already been found to have not lived up to its obligations in relation to Maori in this process, the least it can do is even the playing field and ensure their unique voice is heard. The validity of the process will be undermined if this does not happen.