Ng¯ai Tahu seeks $18m in late payments claim

Representatives from Ngā i Tahu and the Government are still awaiting a reserved decision to determine if the Crown has underpaid in its Treaty settlements.

Stuff reported at the end of May that Ngāi Tahu had taken the Government to court over an alleged breach of the Treaty of Waitangi settlement signed between both parties in the mid1990s.

Now, Stuff can report that the total amount sought is $18.78 million.

The iwi claims it missed out on financial opportunities as a result of late payments made by the Government, as well as a failure by the Crown to make interest payments to Ngā i Tahu based on payments made to other iwi, as part of a relativity clause in the settlement.

For the Crown, Michael Heron QC said any breach of contract action against the Crown should be dismissed as having no legal basis, as the settlement and arbitration agreements were followed.

Representatives for both parties appeared via video conference in front of Associate Judge Owen Paulsen in the High Court at Wellington in May.

The judge reserved his decision, which is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Nga¯ i Tahu’s Treaty claims

Ngāi Tahu transferred 34.5 million acres of land to the Crown as a result of the Treaty of Waitangi, including roughly 80% of the South Island, with promises the Crown would build hospitals and schools for the iwi and 10% of the land would be set aside as Ngā i Tahu reserves.

The hospitals and schools never materialised and only 0.1% of the land was returned.

The iwi was paid $170m when it first signed its settlement in 1998.

The 1998 settlement happened more than 50 years after the iwi’s first settlement, The Ngai Tahu Claim Settlement Act in 1944. Ngā i Tahu was not consulted on this legislation until it was passed.

It was paid a further $68.5m in 2012 and $180m in 2018 because of ‘‘relativity’’ clauses, which meant the iwi was entitled to payments proportional to other tribes’ settlements once total Treaty settlement spending throughout the country reached $1 billion.