Lead negotiator Ken Mair says the Whanganui lands Treaty settlement process has, for some, been a journey of four decades. Photo / Moana Ellis
Whanganui iwi members have voted overwhelmingly to ratify their historic Treaty settlement with the Crown, marking a major milestone in a decades-long process.
The news comes after votes from a two-month ratification process were counted.
Lead negotiator Ken Mair said the results signalled strong support for both the redress package and the governance structure that would manage settlement assets on behalf of the iwi.
“After decades of work, it’s wonderful,” Mair said.
“We should celebrate. It’s been a hard, long journey – for some of us for 40-odd years.”
The Deed of Settlement, He Rau Tukutuku, provided a foundation for cultural, social and economic redress, he said.
Mair, chairman of the Whanganui Land Settlement Negotiation Trust (WLSNT), announced on Monday that iwi members backed the negotiated redress with 81% support, and 79% voted in favour of establishing the Takapau Whāriki Trust as the post-settlement governance entity (PSGE).
The vote drew a turnout of 25%, representing just over 1000 voters from a roll of about 4000 members over the age of 18.
Mair said it was a challenging and difficult process but they were satisfied with the turnout and result.
“We set quite a high threshold for ourselves, and we’ve achieved that.”
The results remain subject to confirmation by the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and the Minister for Māori Development.
Approval by Ngā Hapū o Te Iwi o Whanganui sets the stage for the formal signing of the Deed at Kaiwhaiki Marae, near Whanganui, on May 2.
The trust was the body mandated by Whanganui iwi to negotiate the settlement of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims with the Crown. Negotiations wrapped up in December when He Rau Tukutuku was initialled.
The settlement will deliver a formal Crown apology, $15.5 million in cultural redress and $30m in commercial and financial redress.
It also includes $4.5m in interest, forest rentals of a similar amount, and carbon credits valued at about $1.5m, bringing the total package to around $55m.
At least 4860ha of land would also be returned.
Mair said the settlement could not fully compensate for historical losses.
“To be quite frank, settlement processes are extremely challenging ... set by the Crown. It causes immense division. We see it as a continuing journey.”
Central to negotiations were the iwi’s values, which Mair said were a guiding force throughout.
“What’s been extremely important is to ensure our values of toitū te kupu, toitū te mana, toitū te whenua [hold fast to the word, hold fast to the mana, hold fast to the land] permeated throughout our lengthy negotiation process.
“We didn’t quite get the legal acknowledgement that we were going for at the highest level. However, the minister has assured us that our values will be at the core of all decision-making when we sit down with Crown agencies.”
Preparations are already underway for the signing at Kaiwhaiki in less than two weeks.
“We are in the throes of getting ourselves organised and trying to pretty quickly get everything pulled together for this major event,” Mair said.
The iwi would take a measured approach to the Crown apology to be delivered at the marae.
“We’re not going to force the Crown to apologise. If a person’s going to apologise, that should be genuine. We will listen and then we’ll make our call in regard to whether it’s genuine and has substance.”
After the signing, attention will turn to the post-settlement phase, with an 18-month transition period planned to establish the Takapau Whāriki Trust.
“For the next 18 months there’ll be seven interim trustees. Their role will be to get the new PSGE Takapau Whāriki ready [for] elections. One is hoping that we see a new generation of succession and action in regard to new trustees.”
Mair said tangible benefits would take time.
“Let’s get our capacity and capability set up properly so we can leverage off and build ourselves into the future. I’ve always believed it’s going to take five to 10 years before we really see some serious substance.”
The focus would be on long-term wellbeing for the iwi, its lands and future generations.
“Let’s look at ways we can unify and celebrate ourselves moving forward. Our values should be our guiding lights in regard to how we move forward as a collective – understanding that doesn’t mean that everyone should think the same or act the same, but act in a manner that upholds our values.”
The settlement should be seen as a step toward self-determination, Mair said.
“The settlement is just a small way of wanting – and ensuring that we develop – our own answers, our own tino rangatiratanga [self-determination, sovereignty], in a way that matters for future generations.
“People think that’s easy to do. It’s not. Colonisation is a terrible, terrible illness that we need to work through very quickly.
“I’m hoping our settlements give us further opportunity to advance our aspirations and become, once again, strong hapū, as our tūpuna [ancestors] ... would have expected us to be.”
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.