Situation Report

23/4/2018

Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi

Situation Report

On Tuesday 11 April 2018, Minister Little wrote to Ngāi Te Rangi to advise of his intention to sign the Pare Hauraki Collective Redress Deed although he has given 21 days (by 2nd May) to provide any additional information to him to consider before making his final decision.

The Minister also confirms his expectation that a tikanga process can take place after the signing of the Pare Hauraki Deed.

OBJECTIVE

The long term objective of Ngāi Te Rangi is to ensure:

Respect for the mana of Ngāi Te Rangi is maintained
The protection of Ngāi Te Rangi identity and history (from Waiorooro in the north to Te Tumu in the south)

KEY ISSUES

The key issues we have with the Crown’s actions are:

The Crown’s granting of redress to Hauraki, against our wishes, undermines Ngāi Te Rangi mana whenua/mana moana and rangatiratanga, therefore, is a breach of Te Tiriti.
Tikanga confirms that Hauraki do not have rights in Tauranga Moana independent of Ngai Te Rangi. The Crown’s granting of redress without the consent of Ngai Te Rangi interferes with tikanga.
There has been no proper assessment by the Crown of what the Hauraki interest is. There are no Hauraki interests that warrant the extensive redress granted by the Crown.
A tikanga process that occurs after signing will remove any incentive for Hauraki to carry out a robust resolution process, as the Crown would have already agreed to give Hauraki iwi what they are seeking.

POSITION

A signing of the Pare Hauraki Collective Deed as is, against our wishes, will not achieve our long term objective. A signing will show lack of respect for the mana of Ngāi Te Rangi, and in our view will contribute to the eventual revision of the identity of Ngāi Te Rangi.

Our position therefore remains that all redress that has been offered to Hauraki Iwi in Tauranga Moana must be removed from the Pare Hauraki Collective Deed and Individual Iwi Deeds so that tikanga Māori becomes the test for determining rights to land or sea.

We continue to advocate for tikanga Māori to resolve the issues.

ACTIONS

Ngāi Te Rangi will undertake a range of actions to achieve our objective, including but not limited to:

Continue to engage with Hauraki iwi to discuss issues.
Return to the Waitangi Tribunal to seek a decision on our urgency application.
Continue to engage with local government, Ministers and Members of Parliament so that they properly understand our position, key issues and solution.
Prepare for High Court injunction.
Work collectively with Iwi Allies.

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