Experts to present framework for Wai 262 flora, fauna claim at Waitangi

Advocate Maui Solomon with kuia Saana Waitai-Murray of Ngāti Kuri and and her mokopuna Sheridan Waitai. Photo / Supplied

With one of the biggest political events for te iwi Māori taking place at Waitangi today, major developments are progressing the long-running flora, fauna and intellectual property rights Waitangi Tribunal claim - Wai 262.

Descendants of the claim, known as Te Taumata Whakapūmau, have engaged expert technicians to develop a framework seeking protection of taonga Māori. These technicians along with members of Te Taumata Whakapūmau will engage with whānau, hapū and iwi outside the claim at Waitangi, bringing them into the Kanohi Ora engagement process.

Spokesman Haami Piripi says that Taumata Whakapūmau developing these engagements is vital to encourage the uptake of the kaupapa by Māori across the motu, which is why they are being presented at Waitangi.

“This engagement process, Kanohi Ora, is seeking input from Māori as to what works and what has not worked for them. It is important we get Māori input to this framework because it will enable Māori to thrive.”

Haami Piripi. Photo / Supplied

Lawyer, indigenous rights activist and expert technician Maui Solomon says Wai 262 is a complex issue that spans all aspects of Māori culture and knowledge, severely impacted on by decades of Crown policy and legislation. He says the development of the framework requires fundamental re-shaping of the legislative and policy settings that currently apply to taonga Māori.

“Our technical work is not about ‘tinkering’ with existing legal models that have not met the guarantees of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It is so Māori within their whānau, hapū and iwi hold and maintain tino rangatiratanga to their taonga katoa.

There will need to be a suite of solutions required, including legislation, regulations, policy, ethical guidelines, which all must link to and be compatible with the taonga Māori framework.”

As the pressure increases because of interest both nationally and internationally in opportunities for the use and development of mātauranga Māori, Piripi says it will become imperative that the domestic systems and laws of Aotearoa actively protect and enable the appropriate use of mātauranga Māori.

“A taonga framework is designed to firmly centre the tino rangatiratanga of hapū and iwi Māori in terms of the control and management of how taonga can be appropriately applied.”

Solomon is confident that the taonga Māori framework will provide tangible benefits and value to the country as a whole, where taonga Māori can be appropriately and sustainably used and enjoyed.

“This creates a strong platform for our collective national identity, and for our economic development. The solutions have to uphold the mauri and vision of the original claimants, who were far ahead of their time.

“Taking the claim to Waitangi is also a reminder of two of those original claimants, kuia Saana Waitai-Murray of Ngāti Kuri and Del Wihongi of Te Rarawa, who rallied other leaders from different tribes to demand that the legal system change to focus on the well-being of Taonga Māori,” says Solomon.

The Kanohi Ora engagement will be visible throughout all Waitangi Day commemorations, and will then move to regional and stakeholder hui and wānanga.

For further information, visit https://www.wai262.nz/