Background to the Draft Deed of Settlement Waitaha are an ancient iwi that descends from the waka Te Arawa. Their area of interest extends from Waimapu to Mauao along the coastline to Maketu, and inland to Otanewainuku. The Waitaha beneficiary register has approximately 2000 members. The Crown entered into joint Terms of Negotiations with the Waitaha Raupatu Trust and the Ngati Makino Heritage Trust in February 2008. These Terms of Negotiation were subject to the Waitaha Raupatu Trust having their mandate approved by the Crown. In April 2008, the Crown recognised the mandate of the Waitaha Raupatu Trust to negotiate on behalf of Waitaha the settlement of their Historical Treaty of Waitangi Claims. On 20 July 2011, Waitaha and the Crown initialled a Deed of Settlement based on their Agreement in Principle. The Deed is subject to ratification by the people of Waitaha, who will vote on it by postal and internet ballot during July and August 2011. If ratified, the Deed will be signed and implemented through settlement legislation. Waitaha negotiations were led by Tame McCausland, Punohu McCausland, Maru Tapsell and Whareoteriri Rahiri. The Office of Treaty Settlements, with the support of the Department of Conservation, the Treasury and other government agencies, represented the Crown in day-to-day negotiations. The Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Hon Christopher Finlayson, represented the Crown in high-level negotiations with Waitaha. [gallery size=\"full\" link=\"none\" ids=\"4007,4006,4005,4004,4000,4001,4002,4003,3999,3998,3997,3996\"] Summary of the Historical Background to the Claims by Waitaha By the 1840s, Waitaha primarily occupied the land between Tauranga harbour and the Waiari River, east of Te Puke. During the 1840s and 1850s, the Waitaha leader and prophet, Hakaraia, preached peaceful engagement with Pakeha. When Crown forces invaded the Waikato in July 1863 a number of Waitaha fought for the Kingitanga, while some sided with the Crown. Others remained neutral. These internal divisions created enmity amongst Waitaha and also with neighbouring iwi. War came to Tauranga in 1864. When Crown troops defeated Kingitanga Maori at Te Ranga in June, Waitaha men were among the casualties. The Crown regarded those Maori who fought at Te Ranga as rebels. In May 1865, the Crown confiscated 214,000 acres of land around Tauranga including land in which Waitaha had customary interests. The Crown announced that it would retain only “one-fourth of the whole” and that the remainder would be returned to Maori. Hakaraia rose to prominence as a leader of the resistance to the survey of the 50,000 acre area to be retained by the Crown. In January 1867, government forces assaulted Waitaha settlements near Te Puke, destroying houses, crops and livestock as ‘a special punishment’ for Hakaraia. In 1868 the Crown extended the boundary of the confiscation district by 75,000 acres to include much land claimed by Waitaha and also Otawa, a maunga sacred to Waitaha. The Crown accepted the ancestral claims of Waitaha to approximately 25,000 acres in the confiscation district but withheld much of this ‘in payment for the sin’ of Hakaraia. Hakaraia was killed by Crown troops in March 1870. The Crown opened negotiations with Waitaha for Te Puke in 1873 before the Native Land Court had determined the block’s ownership. The Court, which was created under the native land laws introduced by the Crown in the 1860s, was established to convert customary title (communal and fluid) into a new title (individualised and permanent) derived from the Crown. Waitaha did not initially wish to sell or lease Te Puke. However, in September 1873, rival claims over the land motivated Waitaha to sell part of the block. The Crown pressured Waitaha into selling more land and told Waitaha the block would be mortgaged to the government if they did not sell, on account of a survey debt owed by another claimant to Te Puke. Waitaha were by this time suffering great economic hardship and wanted the Crown to pay the balance of the purchase money without waiting for the Court to determine title. When the Crown refused, Waitaha tried to withdraw from the sale in order to sell to a private party. The Crown would not relinquish its purchase and barred private parties from attempting to acquire the land. The Native Land Court eventually awarded title to Te Puke to Waitaha in October 1878. The Crown completed its purchase over the next eight years. Waitaha took part in many Native Land Court hearings in the 1880s and early 1890s. Most of the land Waitaha were awarded was sold in the 1880s and 1890s, largely to the Crown. By the end of the nineteenth century Waitaha had insufficient land and resources to sustain the tribe. According to Waitaha, this forced some members of the iwi to follow other tribal affiliations. Waitaha express this impact in the whakatauki “Ko Waitaha te iwi, he tangata ngakaurua”: Waitaha was once a powerful tribe, but because of the loss of land they became fragmented and have never been able to unite again. Summary of the Redress Crown Acknowledgements and Apology The Crown acknowledges its actions arising from interaction with Waitaha whereby it breached the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles. The Crown apologises to Waitaha for its acts and omissions which have breached the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. These include the outbreak of the Tauranga war, the Crown’s treatment of Waitaha during the Tauranga Bush Campaign, the impact of the Tauranga confiscation, including the treatment of Waitaha chief Hakaraia, the operation and impact of the native land laws, the Crown’s land purchasing techniques, and the failure to ensure Waitaha retained sufficient land for their future needs. Cultural redress Cultural redress recognises the traditional, historical, cultural and spiritual associations Waitaha has with places and sites within their rohe or area of interest. The cultural redress package is summarised below: Vesting of sites The following sites will be vested in Waitaha. Where the sites are reserves, existing protection of public access and conservation values will be preserved.
- Hine Poto, Lenihan Drive, Te Puke, (2.8 hectares);
- Ohineangaanga, on the corner of Jellicoe Rd and Dunlop St, Te Puke (0.514 ha);
- Part Otawa Scenic Reserve (Up to 5 ha);
- Maungaruahine Pa Historic Reserve (Up to 17.32 ha); and
- Two areas at Te Houhou, Papamoa, comprising Te Whitikiore (10.5 ha) and Te Haehae (2.25 ha).
- Te Ara a Hei – an area within the Otanewainuku Forest Reserve (115 ha); and
- Otawa Maunga (20 ha)
- Department of Conservation areas adjoining Te Raparapa-a-hoe Stream
- Hakoko Creek
- Paraiti Creek
- Popaki Creek; and
- Kaokaonui
- Otanewainuku Peak
- Paraiti Creek
- Popaki Creek
- Hakoko Creek
- Kaokaonui
- Waimapu Stream
- Kaituna River
- Waiari Stream
- Te Raparapa-a-Hoe Stream
- Ohineangaanga Stream
- Te Rerenga Stream
- Te Kopuaroa Stream
- Kaiate Stream; and
- Wairakei Stream
- What is the total cost to the Crown? The total cost to the Crown of the settlement redress outlined in the Deed of Settlement is $11.8 million, including the cultural redress and revitalisation payments listed above, plus interest accrued on $7.5 million since the signing of the Agreement in Principle, and the value of the cultural and commercial redress properties to be vested and transferred for nil consideration.
- Is there any private land involved? No.
- Are the public’s rights affected? No.
- Are any place names changed? No.
- What happens to memorials on private titles? The legislative restrictions (memorials) placed on the title of Crown properties and some former Crown properties now in private ownership, will be removed once all Treaty claims in the area have been settled.
- When will the settlement take effect? If ratified, the Deed of Settlement will be signed and settlement legislation will be introduced to Parliament to implement it. The terms of the settlement will take effect once settlement legislation is passed, expected in 2012.
- Does Waitaha have the right to come back and make further claims about the behaviour of the Crown in the 19th and 20th centuries?No. If the Deed of Settlement is ratified and passed into law, both parties agree it will be a final and comprehensive settlement of all the historical (relating to events before 21 September 1992) Treaty of Waitangi claims of Waitaha. The settlement legislation, once passed, will prevent Waitaha from re-litigating the claim before the Tribunal or the courts. The settlement package will still allow Waitaha to pursue claims against the Crown for acts or omissions after 21 September 1992, including claims based on the continued existence of aboriginal title or customary rights. The Crown also retains the right to dispute such claims or the existence of such title rights.
- Who benefits from the settlement? All members of Waitaha, wherever they may now live.