Treaty process needs more flexibility - Key

John Key. Photo / Kenny Rodger

The Treaty of Waitangi settlement process will need to become more flexible to reach the 2014 target and see "all Maori standing strong", Prime Minister John Key said at a large hui in Auckland today.

The Government called the hui as part of a concerted effort to achieve its 2014 goal for settling all Treaty of Waitangi claims.

About 120 Maori leaders, representing 60 claimant groups or groups soon to be involved in negotiations, were expected to attend.

The Government presented seven proposals to speed up the Treaty settlement process at the hui.

These were: the use of mediation before parties get to the Waitangi Tribunal or Maori Land Court, providing extra support and information to iwi, encouraging iwi to form groups to enter negotiations together, increased crown transparency on who it intends to negotiate with, systematic funding of crown-funded facilitators, reduction of the Crown's role in allocation of settlements and streamlining the legislative process.

Mr Key said completing the historical settlements was a "high priority" because settlements "address our past and they invest in our shared future".

The re-establishment of a cabinet committee devoted to the settlement process, considering the placement of the Office of Treaty Settlements, giving high priority to settlements and providing more resources were ways the Government was committing to the process, he said.

While the many parts of the settlement process worked well there needed to be increased momentum through being "more flexible about the way Maori and the Crown work together in the settlement process".

Mr Key said he was impatient to see "all Maori standing strong, economically independent and fulfilling their true potential" and he believed the completion of historical Treaty settlements would help achieve that.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson told the hui his office estimated there were 60 settlements left before the historical settlements would be complete - half of those are already in the negotiation process.

Proposed government changes to the process would reduce the Crown's role and free up resources for other negotiations, allow more groups to progress negotiations, provide continuity and give claimants clear information, Mr Finlayson said.

Finance Minister Bill English and Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples will also speak today.

Seven draft ideas being discussed at the hui:

1. More use of informal mediation between parties before going to the Waitangi Tribunal and the Maori Land Court. It would work similarly to the process for resolving employment disputes.

2. Support iwi preparedness for negotiations - the Crown would provide information and possibly funding for early planning and preparation.

3. Continue to recognise iwi coming together for joint or parallel negotiations - iwi would be encouraged to form groups with similar aims to negotiate together.

4. Increased Crown transparency on who it intends to negotiate with and quantum - the Crown would have a list of groups it intended to negotiate with and early on in negotiations would give the potential value of redress. Currently, the Crown decides if a group is large enough to deal with on a case by case basis.

5. More systematic use of Crown-funded facilitators and more senior Crown chief negotiators - this would be similar to current practice but with more people used.

6. Reduce the role of the Crown in allocation of redress where requested - iwi and Crown would agree to a high level settlement and iwi would determine the allocation of redress among themselves.

7. Streamlining the legislative process - using draft legislation, drafting the deed of settlement and settlement bill at the same time and passing settlement legislation for iwi at the same time.

The ideas are aimed at accelerating settlements. Some may not apply to all settlements and others could be combined.

- NZPA