Trust is gone
Once again the Crown speaks with forked tongue.
The Te Atiawa Treaty Settlement which Wiki Keenan and I negotiated on behalf of our iwi has been corrupted by
the Crown’s judicial mates (TDN 24/4/21).
We negotiated a 20 per cent discount on all properties purchased by Te Atiawa post-settlement. This was signed off by every Crown agency from the Office of Treaty Settlements to Treasury, Crown Properties and God only knows who else.
Then the Minister of Treaty Settlements approved it and took it to Cabinet who signed off and referred it to Parliament’s select committee for scrutiny. They approved and referred it to Parliament.
I was in the public gallery with my family the day it was debated and not one MP pointed out any mistakes in the bill. In fact, they were all gushing over what a wonderful settlement it was.
After Parliament adopted the Te Atiawa Treaty Settlements Bill it was referred to the Governor-General for royal assent which it received and became law. Now six years later the Crown says, ‘Ouch, we didn’t mean for you to out-negotiate us. It was an honest mistake.’ But here’s the thing that gets up my jumper – if it was a mistake, why wasn’t it spotted throughout the years it took to negotiate the settlement? Was it incompetence on behalf of the Minister and his department? Was it incompetence on the part of Treasury and Crown Properties? Was it incompetence on the part of the Cabinet, the select committee and Parliament?
Because, if you think about it, that’s the only excuse there can be. The whole system was incompetent and now it’s also corrupt. Wiki Keenan and I out-negotiated all of them and now they’re crying foul, it’s not fair. Well, the confiscation of our land wasn’t fair but you did it anyway. The takeaway lesson for me, my family and my iwi is never trust them. Even when it’s law it’s not safe. So much for the Crown acting in good faith. This little lesson will be trotted out for decades to come to remind the Crown of how loathsome its word is.
Peter Moeahu, New Plymouth