THE 10 WORST THINGS

At almost 700 pages long the Te Rarawa Deed of Settlement was written mostly by the Crown, but is interspersed with some nicely presented Te Rarawa history. Between the Crown core and the Te Rarawa wrapping, it's easy to get confused about what it all means.

I read it with two simple questions in mind; at the end of the day, who controls what happens? and how do those with rangatiratanga benefit? The answers are so comprehensively bad it’s not possible to cover them all; so here are just the 10 worst things about it:

NO CHANGE ALLOWED:
The Crown has stipulated that no change to the deed is allowed.

LITTLE LAND RETURNED:
Less than 3.5% of Te Rarawa's original land base will be returned.

LAND RANSOMED:
Most of that <3.5% will be “sold” to Te Rarawa, and has to be paid for (ransomed) before the Crown will release it. LAND ENCUMBERED:
The rest of that <3.5% will be “given” to Te Rarawa with encumbrances on it that ensure the Crown keeps control of it. RANGATIRATANGA REPLACED:
In exchange for less than 3.5% of its land and some cash, Te Rarawa gives up its native title that even the Waitangi Tribunal said it still has; Crown sovereignty will replace hapū rangatiratanga.

CROWN CONTROLS 90 MILE BEACH:
Te Rarawa will become advisors to the Crown, Northland Regional Council and Far North District Council on the management of Te Oneroa-a-Tohe (90 mile beach); the Crown refuses to acknowledge the beach is still owned by the five iwi.

CROWN CONTROLS THE WARAWARA AND OTHER ‘CONSERVATION’ LANDS:
Hapū will get to nominate advisors to the Minister of Conservation on the management of the Warawara, and iwi will get to nominate advisors on the remaining conservation lands in their rohe. But it’s the Minister who will decide whether the iwi advisors will be appointed and when they will be removed. The department, Minister and New Zealand Conservation Authority can then amend any plans made by the iwi advisors; the Crown refuses to acknowledge the lands belong to hapū.

CROWN CAN ALLOW MINING ON OUR LAND:
The Crown has reserved the right to allow prospecting and mining anywhere it sees fit in Te Rarawa – including in the Warawara forest.

CROWN CAN SELL OUR LAND:
The Crown has also reserved the right in the future to sell any land it retains control over – including the Warawara; Te Rarawa will have right of first refusal.

CROWN CONTROLS SOCIAL WELFARE:
Te Rarawa will become advisors to 11 government departments on matters of social welfare; the Crown refuses to allow the iwi to control its own social welfare.

On the facebook page, Te Whenua i te Whakaaria Mai – the promised land, I have described the deed as: one ugly piece of Crown crap being sold to you as fertiliser.

You see, besides the Crown itself and those who get shoulder-tapped as its ‘advisors’, I cannot see how one single rangatira in Pawarenga, Panguru, Ahipara or elsewhere will benefit from this deal.