AN EPIC FIGHT

In 1847, in an epic decision that was not appealed to the Privy Council, the Supreme Court declared that aboriginal title "cannot be extinguished (at least in times of peace) otherwise than by the free consent of the Native occupiers."

Instead of developing laws around that decision, the New Zealand Parliament responded with the Maori Lands Act 1862 and the Native Rights Act 1865 which established the Native Land Court (today the Māori Land Court) to hear aboriginal title claims, and—if proven—to convert them into freehold interests that could be sold to Pākehā.

Why did the Crown do that? Because it knew that the key to removing land from Māori hands and getting it into the hands of Pākehā, was to break and replace the hapū system of collective ownership with a system of individual ownership. Having done that, it was then able to ‘legally’ separate hapū from their lands, and vice versa.

Given the suffering caused by individualisation, you’d think Māori would recognise and shun it like the plague if it ever appeared again, wouldn’t you? Well, apparently not.

Earlier this year the hapū of Ngāpuhi, the largest iwi in Aotearoa, finally began to establish before the Waitangi Tribunal the basis of their many grievances against the Crown for its innumerable breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi since 1840. Having completed the first phase of their hearings, they were preparing for the second stage when it became clear that, with the Crown’s support, Tūhoronuku, a sub-committee of Ngāpuhi’s iwi authority, were about to seek a mandate to settle their claims for them.

The hapū are not happy. Under the banner of Te Kotahitanga o Ngāpuhi they are now trying to persuade Tūhoronuku to back off the mandating process so they can focus their energies on second phase hearings of their claims.

Last week I listened to the live broadcast on iwi radio of the hui held in Te Tii between the two groups. With several hundred people present, it was clear that the overwhelming majority favoured the Kotahitanga position. But it was just as clear Tūhoronuku are not going to back off.

That is very bad news for all of us who don’t want them to fight each other.
Their key messages are very similar sounding but are actually quite different. Tūhoronuku says repeatedly, “Let Ngāpuhi speak.” Te Kotahitanga says just as consistently, “Let Ngāpuhi be heard.” The difference hinges on the fact that Tūhoronuku is not seeking its mandate from the hapū, but will instead appeal directly to individuals like myself.

For hapū, the use by their iwi of individualisation will be even more destructive than when the Crown did it to them in 1865.

Hapū are the transformer in the circuit between whānau and iwi, and many Ngāpuhi hapū are bigger than some iwi. So regardless of what I and others want, unless key iwi leaders do what is right by their hapū, an epic fight is inevitable.

Aue! E koutou, e ngā mea ataahua, nā te aha i āhei ai i a koutou te kōtiti ke atu i ngā huarahi a te hapū?