Crunch talks today in iwi land-ownership row

Difficulty arose as iwi attempted to lay claim to areas of land outside their traditional boundaries. Photo / Alan Gibson

Signatory tribes to the $500 million Treelords Treaty settlement have missed a deadline to work out who owns the huge Kaingaroa Forest estate.

Representatives from eight iwi will hold talks today to decide whether they can forge an agreement that everyone can abide by to divvy up 176,000ha of forestry land.

It will be a worrying sign for iwi members because none will want a repeat of the situation pre-settlement. It took 20 years of infighting between Central North Island iwi, wasting $30 million across multiple failed attempts, before eight iwi banded together to sign settlement legislation with the Labour Government in 2008.

Under the legislation the eight iwi, known as the Central North Island (CNI) collective, agreed to divide accumulated Crown rentals among themselves according to percentages they worked out.

The total amount of rentals divided between the iwi was $284 million. The total Treaty package was worth $500 million.

But the group agreed that the percentage of rentals each iwi received would not determine how much land each of them would receive.

Instead, that would be worked out on a "mana whenua" basis, where iwi leaders would sit down and work ownership out along a tikanga basis by talking to one another.

Those attempts over the past two years have come to nothing and the deadline was passed on July 1.

A source said today's negotiations were a last-ditch attempt to cut a deal before an independent adjudicator was brought in. Over the past week "11th-hour discussions" between the iwi had been ongoing.

There was every chance the groups could end up back up in court, with a judge deciding which iwi owned what land - an unpalatable position for iwi.

A source close to discussions said a fundamental problem the groups faced was that proving mana whenua, essentially where iwi had land interests, was difficult when tribes were claiming land away from their traditional lands.

"If you look where different iwi are geographically located, there are issues there about how one can jump over two or three iwi to have an interest in land which is miles away from their home base."

Each tribe probably thought the other iwi were being "unreasonable".

Another CNI member told the Herald that each iwi had started with the best of intentions but the timeframe was problematic.

"It was always optimistic to get it done it two years, but we're not that far away from reaching agreement."

THE CNI TRIBES

Ngati Rangitihi, Ngai Tuhoe, Ngati Tuwharetoa, Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Whare, Ngati Manawa and a confederation of Te Arawa hapu.

TE REO VERSION

Kua hipa atu tetahi ra kati ma nga iwi nana i haina te whakatau a-Tiriti e kiia nei ko Treelords e etahi, he $500 miriona tara te rahi, hei whakaingoa i nga iwi nona nga whenua mahorahora, whenua nui hoki, o te Ngahere o Kaingaroa.

Ka hui nga kanohi o nga iwi e waru i tenei ra ki te whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro, me kore e taea e ratou te whakatau tikanga mo te tohatoha i tona 176,000 heketea o nga whenua ngahere i raro i tetahi kirimana toitu.

Ka awangawanga pea te marea o nga iwi nei, na te mea e kore ratou e hiahia ki te hoki ki nga ahuatanga i pa i mua o te whakatau. I tautohetohe nga iwi o te puku o te wheke mo te 20 tau, me te moumou o tetahi $30 miriona, katahi ano ka huihui nga iwi e waru ki te kotahitanga hou ki te haina i nga ture whakatau ki te Kawanatanga Reipa i te tau 2008.

I raro i te ture whakatau nei, i whakaae nga iwi e waru, e mohiotia nei ko te kotahitanga o te puku o te wheke (CNI) ki te tohatoha i nga reti Karauna kua toputia ki tena ki tena o ratou. Ko taua tohanga o nga reti ka hangai ki runga i nga orautanga kua oti te whiriwhiri e ratou.

Ko te tino tapeke o nga reti i tohaina i waenga i nga iwi e $284 miriona. Ko te wariu o te mokihi Tiriti katoa, he neke atu i te $500 miriona. Engari i whakaaro te ropu kia kaua e riro ma te orautanga o nga reti ka whiwhi ia iwi e whakatau he pehea rawa te rahi o te whenua ki tena iwi, ki tena iwi. Ka whiria ketia te tohanga whenua i runga i te mana whenua, ma nga korerorero tahitanga, ma te hui i te kaupapa, ma te noho ki te korero a nga pakeke, kanohi ki te kanohi.

Kaore i tutuki nga whainga i enei tau e rua, a, i pahure te ra kati i te 1 o nga ra o Hurae.

E ai ki tetahi kaiwhakaatu mai, ko te hui i te ra nei te hui whakamutunga mo nga iwi nei, i mua i te tukunga i te kaupapa ki tetahi takawaenga motuhake. I roto i te wiki ka taha nei kaore he mutunga o nga korero a aua iwi, kei riro te kaupapa "ki te Korokoro o Te Parata."

Tera pea ko te mutunga atu mo nga iwi he hoki ki te koti me te waiho ano ma te tiati e whakatau ko ehea whenua ka tukua ki ehea iwi - he tikanga tauhou ki tenei mea te iwi. E ai ki tetahi kaiwhakaatu mohio ki nga nekeneke ko tetahi raru nui ko te whakau i te mana whenua o tenei mea te iwi ki etahi panga, ina koa, nga whenua e taunahatia ana e tetahi iwi i nga takiwa tawhiti atu i tona ake rohe.

"Ki te titiro te tangata ki nga rohe whenua tuturu o mea iwi, o mea iwi, ka kitea te uaua. Ki te peke tetahi iwi ki te taunaha whenua i tetahi rohe kei tawhiti noa atu, i te takiwa tino matara i tona ano rohe, ka uaua te whakatau." E whakaaro ana pea ia iwi, ia iwi kei te "he" nga mahi a etahi atu. E ai ki nga korero a tetahi atu mema o nga iwi o te puku o te wheke ki te Herora, i timata nga mahi a te iwi i runga i nga tumanako tino pai, engari ko te raruraru ko te poto o te wa.

"Mai ra ano i mohiotia he uaua te mahi ki te whakaoti i roto i te rua tau, engari kaore matou i te tino tauwehe, tetahi i tetahi, i tenei wa."

NGA IWI O TE CNI

Ko Ngati Rangitihi, ko Ngai Tuhoe, ko Ngati Tuwharetoa, ko Ngati Raukawa, ko Ngati Whakaue, ko Ngati Whare, ko Ngati Manawa me tetahi huinga o nga hapu o Te Arawa