Ngahiwi Tomoana.
The Ngāti Kahungunu Strategy of three-tier Treaty Claims has come to fruition, with the final land claim being settled for Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua and Wairarapa last week.
The three-tier claims were as follows:
This kaupapa was debated loud and far across Kahungunu, but at a hui at Kohupatiki in 1988, it was confirmed as a major kaupapa for Ngāti Kahungunu and all of its leaders.
The first tier saw Ngāti Kahungunu achieve its own economic autonomy and development through the 2006 fisheries settlement, and return all Crown contracts to allow for an independent voice without fear or favour of being a Crown agent. This quantum was $31 million, consisting of $29m shares in quota and $2m in cash.
In 16 years this amount has more than tripled, even through the ups and downs of the business world. I would guess that all hapū claims would have at least doubled or tripled at this point in time.
For the second tier, the iwi dedicated all land claims to clusters of hapū, of which there were eight claims, including with estimated settlements: Wairoa $100m, Ngāti Pahauwera $20m, Ngāti Hineuru $25m, Maungaharuru Tangitu $23m, Mana Ahuriri $19.5m, Heretaunga Tamatea $100m, and last week Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tamaki Nui a-Rua Trust at $165m, bringing a total into our rohe of $452.5m. If you at least doubled these figures, then you would have a settlement figure of an estimated $905m.
At the outset, other iwi and financial commentators said the strategy was madness, but it achieved institutional confrontation with the Crown and on iwi, hapū and whānau levels. This relationship has been more valuable than the money itself, as it has made hapū and whānau strong and fearless negotiators on behalf of their communities.
In keeping with our Kotahitanga kaupapa, in time there will be an emerging of all the above interests into common investments, and through economies of scale, it will return greater wealth to all.
Heretaunga Tamatea went even further by allocating $1m to each marae and other claimant entities, which generated financial and economic strategies and ongoing discussion and debate at a marae level - which in my time over the last 50 years had been missing, as marae fought for survival.
The signing brings an end to these historic claims, allowing the organisations to evolve and develop with their own hapū and rohe nuances. This goes to the very heart of the Kahungunu tikanga of Kotahitanga, which provides for creativity and diversity within unity.
The third tier of claims was on behalf of whānau in order to create economic engines within each whānau, which means addressing the social inequities and racial profiling of our whānau and mokopuna.
The Te Ara Toiora group within the tari are creating new relationships, new partnerships, and new ways of doing things based on our tikanga, whakapapa and kawa. Government agencies are leaning into the success of these relationships and offering more support to address the whole of whānau issues, rather than treating individual mokopuna. The team itself is working with other Māori and non-Māori providers to bring cohesion to the confusion and frustration that confronts whānau every day.
This is the next tranche of treaty work that now needs the biggest push, with support from the iwi and hapū settlement groups, remembering whānau is the bastion of hapū, hapū is the stronghold of iwi, and iwi has the overview of everyone, including all our mokopuna.
We acknowledge those who advocated for these three tiers of treaty settlements, including Tā Pita Sharples, Uncle Charlie Mohi, John Scott, Eru Smith, Wi and Ossie Huata, who led us down this path and directed us to bend the Government’s rules over settlements to our way of doing things. We congratulate all the negotiators for each claim at all levels, as the next poutama of work is developing the assets received in the claim. It’s an acknowledgment to the visionary thinking of all those involved.
This article has been written on behalf of the former Chair and Board members of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated.