Do what is right, the shackles are falling,
Chains of the bondsman no longer are bright.
Lightened by hope soon they’ll cease to be galling,
Truth goeth onward, then do what is right.
This hymn always reminds me of our beloved kaumatua, McCully
Matiu, who in 1984 lodged the first Ngāti Kahu claim in the Waitangi
Tribunal. In 1986 the fisheries part of his and other Te Hiku o Te Ika claims
were heard, and the Tribunal upheld them all in 1988.
Between 1990 and 1994 the lands part of McCully’s
claim up to 1865 was heard along with others for the period. The Tribunal
upheld them in 1997 indicating that they would make binding recommendations for
the transfer of lands and compensation.
McCully passed away in 2001 after leading Ngāti
Kahu for more than 40 years. Since then we have returned
to the Tribunal twice to have that body implement the recommendations
it made in respect of his claims.
To date the Tribunal
has refused to exercise its powers. Instead it has urged the Government
as the representative of the Crown to restore its honour by putting right the
harm it has caused to Ngāti Kahu. In 2013 it went as far as providing lengthy and detailed listings of some
of the stolen lands and assets the Government should relinquish as a partial
settlement.
Shortly before he died McCully reminded us that the
only way to hold on to our lands and put right the thefts committed against us
by those acting under the authority of the English Crown was for us to do what
is right.
Doing what is right includes giving the Crown every
opportunity to atone for its crimes against Ngāti Kahu so that it can restore
its honour. Only then will it be in a position to enter into a process of
reconciliation with us.
True and meaningful reconciliation will take time,
and it will necessarily involve cultural and constitutional
transformations alongside the attitudinal changes. That includes
changing the current English and western European orientation of the
Government’s thinking into a more logical and appropriate Māori and Pacific
thinking to reflect the fact that we all live in the Pacific, not Europe.
My generation has now worked
steadily for more than thirty years towards true and meaningful reconciliation,
and th
To date representatives of the Government have been
unwilling to embark in any sustained way on the journey towards restoring the
Crown’s honour. In fact quite the
opposite.
Nevertheless we say to our rangatahi, as McCully
often and cheerfully said to us, “Haere tōnū. Mahia ngā mahi i runga i te tika
me te pono, e kore koe e hē.” In other
words;
Do what is right let the consequence follow,
Battle for freedom in spirit and might.
And with stout heart look ye forth till tomorrow,
God will protect you; then do what is right.
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