Aerial veiw of Opotiki Harbour. Photo / NZME
Te Whakatōhea will be initialling its Draft Deed of Settlement with the Crown today, however, Te Upokorehe, an iwi group opposed to having its claims included in the Whakatōhea settlement, claims the Crown will be in breach of the Treaty of Waitangi if it does.
A major milestone in the process that will see Whakatōhea ratify its settlement next year will take place at Terere Marae this afternoon.
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little will be in attendance at Terere Marae on behalf of the Crown for the initialling of the Draft Deed of Settlement that will go out to Whakatōhea hapu for consideration.
Whakatōhea Pre-Settlement Claims Trust chairman Graeme Riesterer said "this is a historic day and a step towards a brighter future for our people".
"First and foremost, I would like to recognise all of our pakeke (elders) that have been involved on this settlement journey, especially those who have not been able to see the process through. We have carried this burden for almost 30 years now, and we are so close to finishing our hīkoi (journey).
"My aspiration is that this no longer remains a weight on the shoulders of our tamariki (children) and our mokopuna (grandchildren), instead we are leaving them a taonga to treasure and take care of," Riesterer said.
"Ōpōtiki and the people of Te Whakatōhea can only benefit from settlement.
"The settlement will be able to build on all the amazing things that are already happening in our rohe. Things like the mussel farm. If Whakatōhea support settlement, we will receive 5000ha of marine space that we can farm, that our people can be part of, benefit from and be kaitiaki of.
"Settlement will enable Whakatōhea to be one of the largest aquaculture farms in the world."
The Whakatōhea settlement package consists of a Crown apology, acknowledgements and historical account, 33 cultural properties totalling 6692ha, 18 commercial properties and 10 deferred selection properties, the establishment of Whakatōhea Kaitiaki Forum, a chapter in the Bay of Plenty Conservation Management Strategy, relationship agreements with Crown agencies, $100 million, and the reservation of 5000ha of marine space that will enable the expansion of the current Whakatōhea mussel farm.
This is the first time that marine space has been negotiated as part of a settlement package.
Whakatōhea Pre-Settlement Claims Trust negotiator Maui Hudson said the recent Waitangi Tribunal report reinforced the fairness of the parallel process, which supports the completion of the settlement and the continuation of the Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry.
"I believe this is an immense opportunity for all of Whakatōhea. Whakatōhea are the first Iwi in Aotearoa to be given a parallel process. This is significant because our people get the best of both worlds, the benefits of settlement and the opportunity to address our grievances to an independent body."
The North Eastern Bay of Plenty hearing will look into both historical and contemporary claims, and the tribunal's Priority Report also recommends that they retain recommendatory power for the historical claims even if Whakatōhea decides to settle them.
"The report makes findings and recommendations on the next steps in the process. The trust and the Crown will consider the findings and recommendations in the new year so that we can give Whakatōhea a chance to have vote on the settlement offer. It's in their hands now."
The initialling will be held at Terere marae, the marae of Ngāti Ngāhere hapu, in Ōpōtiki. With current Covid-19 restrictions in place, there will be a limit of 100 attendees onsite.
Te Upokorehe Treaty Claims Trust says the Crown will breach the Treaty of Waitangi if the initialling of the Whakatōhea Deed of Settlement goes ahead.
In a statement released yesterday, Te Upokorehe said its legal counsel were advised at 4.45pm on Tuesday that the Crown would be initialling the Deed of Settlement with Te Whakatōhea Pre-Settlement Trust today.
"This deed has the potential to settle all Te Upokorehe claims without mandate, and with little more than 24 hours' notice before Christmas, while our focus is on preparing for potential Covid outbreaks over the Christmas and summer holiday period," the statement said.
"Te Upokorehe Iwi has never supported the Whakatōhea Pre-Settlement Claim Trust mandate and recently presented a petition of over 700 signatures to withdraw Te Upokorehe, our claims, whenua and sacred sites from the Whakatōhea settlement.
The main issue Te Upokorehe has with being included in the settlement is that it does not consider itself to be a hapu of Whakatōhea, but rather an iwi in its own right whose historic claim predates the arrival of the Mātaatua waka.
Te Upokorehe said it was not the only group that the pre-settlement claim trust was representing unmandated. Four out of the five Whakatohea hapu had also filed petitions to withdraw from the settlement.
"In a recent scathing report, the Waitangi Tribunal agreed with Te Upokorehe that initialling must be delayed while amendments are made to the withdrawal process, and the withdrawal process is run. The tribunal said if the Crown proceeds to initial the deed before this is done it will be in active breach of Te Tiriti.
"Te Upokorehe continues to oppose a settlement occurring prior to the hearing of our Treaty claims by the Waitangi Tribunal's historical Inquiry into the North-Eastern Bay of Plenty. We also oppose any settlement that hands our claims, whenua, taonga and whakapapa to Te Whakatōhea."
Te Upokorehe has written to the Minister of Treaty Negotiations Andrew Little and Minister of Māori-Crown Relations Kelvin Davis, seeking their "urgent assurance that the Crown will act in good faith and cancel the initialling of the Deed". If the Crown chooses to initial the Deed [today] then Te Upokorehe condemn the Crown's choice to willingly breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and to knowingly prejudice Te Upokorehe.
Responding to yesterday's statement by Upokorehe, Whakatōhea Pre-Settlement Claims Trust negotiator Maui Hudson said the reality of the Treaty settlement process, set up by the Crown, was that there would always be disagreements.
"This was illustrated by the 2018 vote where the results were finely balanced with the majority wanting to continue with direct negotiations.
"This result led to the parallel process being established, which allows Whakatōhea to complete its settlement and continue with its Waitangi Tribunal inquiry.
"The Waitangi Tribunal made a finding in their 2018 report that it was reasonable for Te Upokorehe to be included in the Whakatohea settlement. Upokorehe have been represented as a hapu of Whakatōhea on the Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board since 1952 and have had representatives for the hapu and marae on the pre-settlement claims trust since it was established in 2016.
Hudson said the Waitangi Tribunal recently found that the parallel process was a fair and reasonable response to the Whakatōhea vote in 2018, and was not a breach of the Treaty because it is up to Whakatōhea to decide whether it will accept it as part of the Crown offer.
Hudson acknowledged that a petition had been received to trigger a withdrawal or amendment to the mandate which was led by Te Upokorehe and also that there are claimants associated with each of the Whakatōhea hapu that do not support the negotiations process or the pre-settlement claims trust. "However, all of the hapu of Whakatōhea are represented by the trust and they are supported by the majority of their hapu members.
"This is the first time hearings will take place after a settlement has been finished. It is important to note that the hearing covers both historical and contemporary issues and we are only settling the historical issues."
Warnings of localised flooding, severe gales, waves reaching 6.5 metres and snow.