TRIBUNAL SETS A DATE

Following the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to hold hearings for both binding recommendations and ordinary recommendations over Ngāti Kahu’s claims, a judicial conference was held on 5 June in Wellington to establish the principles the Tribunal will use when determining what relief it will order and recommend.

Opposing Ngāti Kahu at the conference were several Crown servants, as well as Te Aupōuri. But only Te Rarawa’s lawyer turned up and, once again, asked the Crown to talk for them. As for the whānau from Ngāti Tara who oppose the return of Rangiputa to all Ngāti Kahu, instead claiming that they are the main mana whenua over it and it should therefore be returned only to them and one other hapū, they did not turn up.  However the Tribunal noted that they were piggy-backing on Ngāti Kahu’s claim and asked for the minutes of the meeting that recorded agreement that Rangiputa would be shared with all Ngāti Kahu.

During the conference the Crown kept trying to cut back the lands that could be ordered to be returned, and spent some time trying to persuade the Tribunal to look at its “good, generous, fair and pragmatic [settlement] offer to Ngāti Kahu” rather than considering binding recommendations.  It said it had “acted genuinely and fairly” and it was Ngāti Kahu’s fault that negotiations had failed because they had been “stubborn and intransigent”.

When the Tribunal was clearly not impressed with that rhetoric, the Crown then tried to say it could not be ordered to return “private land” with 27B memorials on the title to Ngāti Kahu.  A 27B memorial warns the buyer that the Crown could be ordered to buy back the lands if the Tribunal upholds a claim over them. However the Tribunal was clear that all buyers knew what they were getting into when they speculated on the land and were duly warned.

The Crown then talked about how upset current “owners” would be about being notified that they could be losing “their” private land without being allowed to be heard by the Tribunal.  On that point, Ngāti Kahu had no sympathy given that they were not notified or heard when most of their lands were stolen by the Crown, and they were certainly not paid, as these “owners” will be. 

The Tribunal has now directed that further evidence be provided to it on a number of issues including mana whenua evidence for shared lands, as well as evidence of the prejudice suffered by Ngāti Kahu, such as the exact amount of land loss suffered, the resultant socio-economic statistics, and the valuations of the lands to be resumed.

Finally, the Tribunal set down a date to hear the remedies application in the week commencing 3 September 2012 at a marae venue of Ngāti Kahu’s choice.