Hapu pour cold water on deal

Lake Okataina, near Rotorua. Picture / Alan Gibson

Te Arawa hapu yesterday voiced strong opposition to a controversial bill that would return the Rotorua lakes to the tribe, saying those who negotiated the deal had no mandate to act for them.

Parliament's Maori affairs committee heard that the Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Bill was causing deep rifts in Te Arawa and was unlikely to fulfil its intention of ending claims to the lakes.

Several hapu told the committee they wanted the bill suspended or mention of their names removed from the legislation, which had its first reading in Parliament last month and is set to become law. Others said the bill left them out in the cold because it mentioned only three Te Arawa ancestors and took away their rights to a portion of the settlement.

But the Te Arawa Maori Trust Board, which negotiated the settlement to have 13 lakebeds returned to the tribe, denied acting without a mandate, saying it had approval of 94 per cent of members.

During submissions to the committee, lawyer Donna Hall said her Ngati Rangiteaorere hapu was never given the chance to see the contents of the bill until it was passed.

She criticised the trust board for not engaging in full and frank discussion and accused the Office of Treaty Settlements of picking a team of Te Arawa negotiators who were on its side.

"OTS put in place a mandating process that bulldozes us," she said of her hapu.

She said the settlement had been intended to address mistakes made in 1922, when the Crown began paying an annuity for use of the lakes in response to a Te Arawa claim, and more claims would result if the settlement were not properly resolved this time round.

Her hapu supported a settlement on the lakes and she believed Te Arawa had the ability to unite for that cause, calling on the select committee to get the bill sent back and rewritten.

"We can get it better and we can get it right so we're not back here in another 50 years," she said.

The Te Arawa Federation of Maori Authorities said it wanted the bill suspended until the fragmented tribe was reunited. Spokesman Pihopa Kingi also feared that the legislation was a way for the Government to escape responsibility for cleaning up the badly polluted lakes.

"It's the responsibility of the Crown to restore them before they hand them back," he said.

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples was one of nine select committee members hearing the submissions.

He said the issues raised had confirmed his party's decision to oppose the bill, adding that it was an issue of survival for hapu if they did not receive recognition in a settlement.

National's Maori affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee, also on the select committee, said the Government should be alarmed at lack of unity among Te Arawa and the fact that the trust board had not ruled out pursuing a claim to the lakes' water. "Even if this bill passes, to think that there's any settlement here of an enduring settlement here is quite fanciful," he said.

Trust board general manager Roku Mihinui rejected criticism from other tribe members, telling the Herald that the mandating process was robust and inclusive.

"We didn't identify any particular iwi or hapu that we were discussing this mandate with. We were discussing the mandate with Te Arawa."

The committee must report back to Parliament by August 4.

THE PLAN

* The bill vests 13 of 14 lakebeds in Te Arawa, while the Crown retains ownership of the water column and airspace above the lakebeds.

* The bill includes a formal apology to Te Arawa for Crown breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and gives Te Arawa $2.7 million in recognition of economic losses.

* The bill makes it clear that it is the final settlement of all historical claims Te Arawa have in relation to the 14 lakes.

* Te Arawa is a confederation of iwi and hapu with about 40,000 members.