‘Pride’ stalls Treaty deal
There’s ‘‘not a hope’’ of the country’s largest iwi getting Treaty settlement negotiations under way by the election and one Northland MP is blaming ’’stubborn Ngapuhi pride’’.
Treaty negotiations originally started in 2009 but it was 2014 before the Crown recognised a mandate for Tuhoronuku – the board set up to settle claims.
Eight years later and upward of $60 million in lost interest and Ngapuhi – an iwi making up more than 19 per cent of the country’s Maori population – continues to flounder over who should be in charge of negotiations.
‘‘It’s not so much disappointed for me as I’m disappointed for Ngapuhi,’’ Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said. ’’It’s been a drawn out process for years so nothing disappoints me and nothing excites me anymore.
‘‘There are deep-seated divisions up there and I always knew it was going to be difficult but where there’s a will there’s a way and I’ve seen it time and time again with different iwi.’’
Finlayson says there’s ‘‘not a hope’’ a new board will be set up and ready to negotiate by the Government’s 2017 target and Labour’s Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis says it might be time for the Crown to intervene.
‘‘It’s really coming down to personalities just clashing – stubborn Ngapuhi pride,’’ Davis said.
‘‘I’ve always said we should have faith in our leaders to make the right decisions and politicians should back out but that said, it’s getting to the stage now where it’s just ridiculous and maybe there does need to be some direct intervention.’’
Finlayson says there are people in leadership positions who could ‘‘step up a bit more’’ but there are no plans for the Government to appoint people to the board.
In September 2015 the Waitangi Tribunal upheld an appeal that Tuhoronuku’s mandate undermined the right of hapu to choose who spoke for them.
The Maranga Mai report was born out of the tribunal decision, which proposed a new entity to settle claims.
While Tuhoronuku agreed to hand over the mandate to a new board at the beginning of this year, it has since back-pedalled and started demanding changes to the new structure.
While Finlayson will consider their concerns, he’s not interested in ‘‘reinventing’’ Maranga Mai and said Tuhoronuku needed to ‘‘sign up to it or it’s arrivederci’’.
Finlayson has kept those MPs in Parliament with Ngapuhi links involved throughout and says they’re aware of what needs to happen but ‘‘an agreement needs to be consensual’’.
‘‘I can’t force an agreement down Ngapuhi’s throat.’’
Davis questioned whether the iwi has the right ‘‘calibre of people’’ to run a potential $300 million business once settlement is reached.
’’I really want us to employ the best people from around the world who have experience in growing businesses and making right investment decisions, and at the same time have a parallel process where we’re training our next generation of people to take over.
‘‘To think Uncle so-and-so can run a $300m business because he’s been the treasurer at the local marae for the last 20 years just doesn’t cut it.’’
Finlayson said the run-down marae and lack of employment opportunities were signs the settlement was vital.
‘‘It would provide them with a very good economic base in a part of the country that needs jobs and needs opportunities and they’re there waiting for people.’’