KEY POINTS:
The Government has begun talks with five Auckland tribal groups in an attempt to remedy a $90 million cash-and-land Treaty deal with Ngati Whatua o Orakei.
The Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Mark Burton, has instructed the Office of Treaty Settlements to attend a one
day workshop hui with the prejudiced Auckland iwi.
The meeting follows a critical Waitangi Tribunal report into the Auckland claim.
Topics for discussion include whether Ngati Whatua o Orakei should be granted exclusive stewardship of Auckland sites, including Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill and Maungawhau/Mt Eden, and whether funding should be made available to other tribes to advance their claims.
"The Crown has paid Ngati Whatua around $350,000 to date just to negotiate but with no other tribe receiving a cent," said lawyer Paul Majurey representing Marutuahu tribes.
Mr Burton said the goal was to reach durable settlements with all groups with interests in Auckland, including Ngati Whatua o Orakei.
"The issues raised by the tribunal are complex, and there is no easy path through this," said Burton.
As well as facing criticism from the tribunal for its settlement process in Auckland and in its multimillion-dollar Te Arawa Affiliates agreement, the Government faces a problem getting political support for these difficult settlements.
With National, Greens, Maori Party, Act and two independents opposed, it doesn't have the numbers in Parliament to pass the bills necessary to ratify its deeds of settlements.
One bill caught in this stalemate is the Te Roroa settlement signed in 2005.
Ngati Whatua o Orakei Trust Board chief executive Tiwana Tibble said he wasn't aware of the hui but looked forward to the appropriate time when the tribe would "re-engage with the overlapping interests".
The hui has been greeted with cautious optimism by Auckland iwi who had taken their concerns about unfair negotiating tactics to the tribunal in March.
"The steps being put in place by the minister are exactly what is required to achieve an inclusive settlement with all Auckland tangata whenua - not just Ngati Whatua," said Mr Majurey.
"We were heartened to hear the minister say they were prepared to be flexible," said Stephen Clark, representing Te Kawerau a Maki.
"This is a good sign but well overdue," said lawyer Kathy Ertel for Ngati Te Ata and Ngai Tai ki Tamaki.
Two staff involved in the negotiations - policy and negotiations manager Rachel Houlbrooke and historian Jay Eden - have since resigned from the office of Treaty Settlements.
The iwi were pleased there will be a discussion on the commissioning of independent historical research which they argued was sorely lacking in the Ngati Whatua o Orakei agreement. Their concerns were given substance when the Tribunal inquiry into the settlement process flushed out a suppressed report by crown historian Donald Loveridge critical of the Ngati Whatua o Orakei historical research. All of the tribes are keen for their histories to be told and will be putting forward their own research and historical sources that the crown has yet to examine.
"To see the real story behind Te Taou you have to research the oral history reports, what our tupuna (ancestors) said to the courts at the time," said Lou Paul (Paora Kawharu) the lead claimant for the iwi. Te Taou was the tribe that initiated the Tribunal urgent inquiry in 2006 arguing Ngati Whatua o Orakei, an entity created by government statute, did not have the right, nor the whakapapa to represent Te Taou.
As well as recommending funding be provided for independent historical research, the Tribunal recommended in June the crown should also provide financial support for affected groups to obtain mandates from their constituencies.
The prospect which will be discussed at the hui has been welcomed by the tribal groups. "If we can get some funding from the minister we will hold mandating hui in several different areas and we'll bring those who are Te Taou together and then do the one mandate," said Mr Paul.
Also on the hui agenda is the mechanism for a "single negotiating table" to deal with the issue of who should have stewardship of Auckland's iconic sites or maunga. The groups are also opposed to other crown properties and $80 million of naval land being set aside solely for Ngati Whatua o Orakei.
"The cross claims are not limited to the iconic maunga - if we get to a single negotiating table it will for be more than just the cultural redress sites," said Mr Clark.
