DESPERATELY SEEKING SOMEONE

In his speech last month during the third reading of his Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill, Chris Finlayson signalled his hopes that in the not too distant future, someone will do in Ngati Kahu what his friends in other iwi have done; settle all our claims right up to 1992 in a spirit of cooperation.

Whenever a Minister utters his hopes in his House, you can bet dollars to doughnuts that steps are already being taken by various public servants to transform those hopes into the here and now. 

But in this case, there are some serious obstacles to the Ministerial hopes.  First, the head claimants of Ngati Kahu’s well-founded claims have consistently refused to turn their backs on the full and final settlement their tupuna instructed them to get.  And second, the majority of Ngati Kahu’s marae have steadfastly declined to accept the Crown’s 2013 settlement offer as full and final. 

So, how are the public servants doing so far on removing those obstacles?  Well, they’re trying.

Last year Ngati Kahu’s marae were asked by their negotiators whether they would accept the Crown’s 2013 version of a full and final settlement, or stick with their tupuna’s instructions as laid out between 1997 and 2000.  Because the Crown offer when measured against the tupuna’s instructions can only be negotiated as a partial settlement.

But instead of framing the question accurately, local public servants manipulated it to make it seem like it was a straight out choice between either a full and final settlement or a partial settlement. 

What’s the bet that marae who opt to answer this manipulated question will be encouraged to believe that full and final looks like the Crown’s offer, and not their tupuna’s instructions? 

With respect to the head claimants, on Sunday 27^th June, a high-powered team of Wellington-based public servants arrived at a hui on one of our marae.  Neither the head claimant nor the kuia of that marae (all of whom are actively involved in their claim) had a clue they were coming until they walked in the door.  

The result was not a happy one, especially for the public servants who were told by the head claimant, “It’s not often you get things right, but you got it wrong this time,” and more forcefully by the kuia, “Ngati Kahu will not settle.”

On a lower level, another local public servant recently used an appointment with one of Ngati Kahu’s kaumatua to pass on a scurrilous lie to him about his iwi’s Chief Negotiator. 

Under the Public Service Code of Conduct, all public servants are required to disclose any conflict of interest, or potential conflict, before they commence employment and during employment if such a conflict arises.  

While most public servants have enough integrity to steer clear of claims against the Crown, because they know they are conflicted, the same cannot be said about those who are desperately seeking someone to cooperate and settle Ngati Kahu’s claims on the Crown’s terms.