Treaty report due October

Tribunal presiding officer Judge Craig Coxhead said in a memorandum issued on June 17 that a 600-page draft stage one report was delayed through lack of tribunal resources. Photo / John Stone

The long-awaited Waitangi Tribunal report on stage one of its Te Paparahi o Te Raki inquiry into Ngapuhi Treaty grievances is expected to be available in October.

The report, regarded by Te Kotahitanga o nga Hapu Ngapuhi as crucial to validating and enhancing hapu claims for settlement of grievances, covers He Whakaputanga (the 1835 Declaration of Independence) and 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi matters dealt with at hearings more than three years ago.

Back then, Te Kotahitanga co-chairman Pita Tipene said healing the past was the basis for building a bright future and Ngapuhi were eager to contribute toward a better Northland and New Zealand.

While many people perhaps thought Treaty claim settlements were all about the return of land and cash payouts, the primary goal for Te Kotahitanga was repositioning Maori authority in modern New Zealand society, based on He Whakaputanga, he said.

Any cash settlement with Ngapuhi would be secondary to rectifying the constitutional basis of the Maori/Crown relationship, Mr Tipene said.

"This is a key reason why there is so much widespread opposition to the direct negotiations model being advocated by Te Runanga-a-Iwi o Ngapuhi through its settlement sub-committee, Tuhoronuku."

Last week, the tribunal held a two-day judicial conference at Waitangi to hear nine applications from claimants seeking urgent tribunal hearings to examine the validity of the Tuhoronuku mandate.

The mandate has been recognised by the Government and Tuhoronuku has held elections (with results to be announced in July) to select representatives for an authority independent from the runanga which will negotiate a Ngapuhi settlement.

Some claimants opposing this process seek the opportunity for their hapu to negotiate settlement of their grievances.

Tribunal presiding officer Judge Craig Coxhead said in a memorandum issued on June 17 that a 600-page draft stage one report, delayed through lack of tribunal resources, was being reviewed and prepared for publication. Incorporating review comments was expected to be completed by August and "all things going well" claimants would get copies of the report by the end of October, the judge said.

Meanwhile, Ngapuhi Speaks, a report about the stage one hearings, is nearing sales of 2000 copies and has been released as an e-book on meBooks.co.nz.