| Mandating for Negotiations
The aim of this part of the process is for the claimant group to provide a Deed of Mandate to the Crown.
This Deed of Mandate:
. states who has the authority to represent the claimant group in negotiations
with the Crown;
. describes how this mandate was obtained and how the negotiators are to be
held accountable to their wider claimant community;
. defines the claimant group, the claim area and the claims that are intended
to be settled.
There are a number of ways in which those who negotiate on behalf of the claimant group can be selected. Each claimant group may have a different approach. The Crown's key concern is that the process by which this occurs is fair and open to all members of the claimant community.
Selection of representatives to negotiate a settlement package with the Crown does not mean those representatives will also be in charge of any settlement assets. A mandate is valid only for the negotiation phase of the settlement process. All members of a claimant group will have the opportunity to approve the settlement package and, subsequently, decide on how the settlement assets are to be administered and governed.
Deeds of Mandate are assessed by the Office of Treaty Settlements and Te Puni Kokiri (the Ministry of Maori Development). If a Deed is found to be properly inclusive and representative by these two agencies, it is then publicised in local and national newspapers to ensure that all members of the claimant community have a chance to comment, as well as neighbouring claimant groups. The Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi and Minister of Maori Affairs make the final decision on behalf of the Crown, and a mandate may be recognised subject to certain conditions.
Comprehensive Negotiations/Large Natural Groups
The Crown prefers that any negotiation with a claimant group cover all that group's historical claims against the Crown. This means that a subsequent negotiated settlement is a settlement for all the claimant group's historical claims against the Crown. It is, in other words, a comprehensive settlement.
The Crown also prefers to negotiate with large natural groups. A large natural group is usually an iwi (tribe) or a cluster of hapu (sub-tribes) with a significant population, and a large distinctive claim area.
Negotiating with larger rather than smaller groups allows the Crown to offer a wider range of redress. Many forms of redress work best when they apply to a large natural grouping of claims interests that is limited by customary association. Including a wide variety of redress within a settlement package also allows a wide range of needs to be met.
The Crown does not usually consider a single claim lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal as sufficient basis for negotiations, as any Maori can lodge a claim and there is no requirement for such a claim to have a mandate from the wider claimant community.
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