| Tainui Taranaki ki Te Tonga Letter of Agreement
The Crown and Tainui Taranaki ki Te Tonga signed a Letter of Agreement at Parliament on 11 February 2009
Summary of the Letter of Agreement between the Crown and Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga for the settlement of the historical claims of Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga.
11 February 2008
Background to the Letter of Agreement
Historical Account and Crown Apology
Cultural Redress
Financial and Commercial Redress
Next Steps in Negotiations
Questions and Answers
A copy of the Letter of Agreement is available for download at the bottom of this page.
Background to the Letter of Agreement
Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga comprises Te Atiawa ki Te Tau Ihu, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Koata and the Wakatu Incorporation on behalf of the Wai 56 claimants. The combined tribal area of the Tainui Taranaki iwi covers the top of the South Island. The four iwi have a combined population approximately 6,000 people according to the 2006 Census.
The Waitangi Tribunal heard the Te Tau Ihu claims of all northern South Island iwi between August 2000 and March 2004, and released preliminary reports in 2007 and a final report in November 2008.
On 3 October 2006, the previous Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and the Minister of Māori Affairs recognised the mandate of Tainui Taranaki ki Te Tonga to represent the four Tainui Taranaki iwi in negotiating a comprehensive historical Treaty settlement. The Crown signed Terms of Negotiation with Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga on 27 November 2007.
On 11 February 2009, the Crown and Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga co-signed a Letter of Agreement. The parties will now develop a detailed Deed of Settlement based on this agreement, and also post-settlement governance arrangements to receive and manage the redress. The members of the Tainui Taranaki iwi will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not to accept the Crown’s offer as set out in the Deed of Settlement, and on post-settlement governance arrangements. If ratified, the Deed will be signed and the settlement will be implemented and the redress transferred following the passage of settlement legislation.
The negotiations were carried out on behalf of Tainui Taranaki iwi by a core negotiation team comprising representatives of each of the claimant iwi and Wai 56. The Office of Treaty Settlements, with the support of Department of Conservation, Land Information New Zealand, the Treasury and other government agencies, represented the Crown in day-to-day negotiations. The Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Hon Christopher Finlayson, and his predecessor Hon Dr Michael Cullen, represented the Crown in high-level negotiations with Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga.
Summary of the Redress
Historical Account and Crown Apology
The historical account, Crown acknowledgment and Crown apology will outline the basis on which the Crown is settling the historical claims.
The historical accounts will outline the historical relationship between the Crown and the four Tainui Taranaki iwi. On the basis of the historical account, the Crown will acknowledge that certain actions or omissions of the Crown were a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles. The Crown will then offer an apology to the four Tainui Taranaki iwi for the acknowledged breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles.
The claims of the four Tainui Taranaki iwi relate to the Crown's failure to ensure that they retained sufficient land for their future needs. This included a failure to adequately investigate their customary rights in its resolution of the New Zealand Company's transactions in the northern South Island and to provide promised Tenths and occupation reserves. Their claims also relate to the Crown's land purchasing techniques, particularly in the Wairau and Waipounamu purchases in the 1840s and 1850s, the alienation of land from the Motueka Native Reserve in 1853, the Native Reserves Act 1856, and perpetual leasing of the reserves in the 1880s.
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Cultural Redress
Cultural redress recognises the traditional, historical, cultural and spiritual associations the four Tainui Taranaki iwi have with places and sites within their rohe or area of interest. The cultural redress package includes:
Overlay Classification
Overlay classifications over the following sites:
• Farewell Spit;
• Waikoropupu Springs;
• Takapourewa (Stephens Island);
• Whakaterepapanui Island Scenic Reserve;
• Part of French Pass Scenic Reserve;
• Rangitoto ki te Tonga (D’Urville Island)
• The Brothers Islands;
• East Head on Arapawa Island; and
• the Wairau Lagoon.
The declaration of an area as an overlay classification provides for the Crown to acknowledge the respective iwi values in relation to that area. Overlay classifications are common cultural redress instruments in historical settlements and are known as Tōpuni in the Ngāi Tahu settlement and Whenua Rāhui in the Affiliate Te Arawa settlement, for example.
Kaitiaki instruments
The special association of the respective Tainui Taranaki iwi with the natural resources in particular areas will be recognised by the appointment of the appropriate iwi governance entities as kaitiaki to provide advice directly to the Minister of Conservation regarding:
a) the management of threatened native species in Takapourewa Nature Reserve on Stephens Island and Whakaterepapanui Island Scenic Reserve,
b) Ngāti Kōata’s interest in managing eels at Moawhitu on D’Urville Island, and
c) the restoration of native flora and the management of threatened native species on (or proposed to be transferred to) the following four islands in the Queen Charlotte Sound: Allports Island Scenic Reserve, Pickersgill Island Scenic Reserve; Blumine Island Scenic Reserve; and Moioio Island Scenic Reserve
The settlement will recognise Te Atiawa’s role as kaitiaki of the Coastal Marine Area of Queen Charlotte Sound, through the Crown providing advice and expertise to Te Atiawa to develop a statutory plan articulating Te Atiawa’s values in relation to Queen Charlotte Sound. The Marlborough District Council will have a statutory obligation to consider the plan when developing their Regional Coastal Plans and Regional Policy Statements under the Resource Management Act 1991.
Vesting of sites
26 sites totalling approximately 285 hectares to be vested to the four Tainui Taranaki iwi, subject to specific conditions including protection of existing public access.
• Puponga Farm (3 sites)
• Pakawau Inlet
• Tākaka River Mouth
• Melbourne Point/Pah Point (Whanganui Inlet)
• Te Tai Tapu (Mohua)
• Puketawai, part of Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve
• Tapu Bay, Kaiteriteri
• Karaka/Kaka Point
• Part of Wainui Road Conservation Area
• Waihīnau Bay/Bulwer
• Catherine Cove School Site
• Anakawau Bay
• Collinet Point
• The Cove, D’Urville Island
• Penguin Bay, D’Urville Island
• Pā site within Momorangi Recreation Reserve
• Conservation Area, Picton
• Wedge Point
• Ngākuta Bay
• Queen Charlotte Forest site
• Glasgow Island
• Wairau Pā
• Rārangi (Wairau)
• Hori Bay
Up to five commercial properties in Blenheim and Nelson will be vested as cultural redress, subject to deduction from Tainui Taranaki’s existing fund for the gifting of commercial properties with cultural associations up to a total aggregate value of $12.04 million.
Four sites to be vested in one or more of the four Tainui Taranaki iwi jointly with one or more other Te Tau Ihu groups:
• Part of Whites Bay Recreation Reserve
• Horahora Kākahu Island Historic Reserve
• Queen’s Road Recreation Reserve, Nelson
• Tokomaru (Mt Robertson)
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Statutory Acknowledgements and Deeds of Recognition
A Statutory Acknowledgement registers the association between the four Tainui Taranaki iwi and a site or area and enhances that particular iwi’s ability to participate in specified Resource Management Act processes. There are 21 acknowledgements in the agreement relating to:
• Cable Bay
• Maungatapu
• Matapihi (Matapehe)
• Lake Rotoiti
• Lake Rotoroa
• South of Ligar Bay, Abel Tasman monument in Abel Tasman National Park
• Westhaven (Te Tai Tapu) Marine Reserve and Westhaven (Whanganui Inlet) Wildlife Reserve
• Parapara Peak
• Pukeone (Mt Campbell)
• Wharepapa (Mount Arthur)
• Titi Island Nature Reserve
• D’Urville Island (Moawhitu Bay)
• D’Urville Island (Anakawau/Wainui Bays)
• Samson Bay quarry sites in Odlins Exchange Reserve and Tennyson inlet Scenic Reserve
• Askews Hill quarry site in Taipare Conservation Area
• Penguin Bay (D’Urville Island)
• Te Rae o Te Karaka (Karaka Point, Waikawa Bay)
• Queen Charlotte Sounds and Islands
• Hura, Arapawa Island
• Para Swamp Wildlife Refuge
• Wharehunga Bay Recreation Reserve, Arapawa Island
Deeds of Recognition oblige the Crown to consult with the four Tainui Taranaki iwi and have regard to their views regarding their special associations with certain areas. A Deed of Recognition will be made between Tainui Taranaki and the Crown in relation to 20 sites:
• Cable Bay
• Maungatapu
• Matapihi (Matapehe)
• Lake Rotoiti
• Lake Rotoroa
• South of Ligar Bay, Abel Tasman monument in Abel Tasman National Park
• Parapara Peak
• Pukeone (Mt Campbell)
• Wharepapa (Mount Arthur)
• Titi Island Nature Reserve
• D’Urville Island (Moawhitu Bay)
• D’Urville Island (Anakawau/Wainui Bays)
• Samson Bay quarry sites in Odlins Exchange Reserve and Tennyson inlet Scenic Reserve
• Askews Hill quarry site in Taipare Conservation Area
• Penguin Bay (D’Urville Island)
• Te Rae o Te Karaka (Karaka Point, Waikawa Bay)
• Queen Charlotte Sounds and Islands
• Hura, Arapawa Island
• Para Swamp Wildlife Refuge
• Wharehunga Bay Recreation Reserve, Arapawa Island
The Crown offers statutory acknowledgements and deeds of recognition in relation to the following rivers within the four Tainui Taranaki iwi area’s of interest, subject to specific further negotiations:
• Maitai River (or Mahitahi River near Nelson)
• Wairau River (including Omaka River as its tributary)
• Waimea River (including Wairoa River and Wai-iti River as its tributaries)
• Motueka River
• Takaka River
• Aorere River
• Pelorus River (or Te Hoiere River near Havelock)
• Riwaka River and Resurgence
• Waikawa Stream
• Waitohi Stream
• Patarau River
• Anatori River
The Crown also offers to provide statutory acknowledgements over coastal areas of significance to the four Tainui Taranaki iwi, to be finalised.
Te Tau Ihu Input into Waterway Management
The Crown offers to explore the possibility of redress that will provide the iwi of Te Tau Ihu input into the management of waterways in Te Tau Ihu. Any redress would be consistent with the existing statutory framework.
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Special Redress
- Waikawa Bay and Waikawa Marina
The Crown offers to provide advice and expertise to Te Atiawa to undertake a scoping study of options to improve the quality of the marine environment in Waikawa Bay.
- Moawhitu (D’Urville Island Scenic Reserve)
The Crown offers to explore the exchange of up to 2 hectares of Crown land at Moawhitu with land in Ngāti Koata’s existing fishing reserve.
- Exploration of whānau claims
The Crown offers to explore redress for the 24 specific Tainui Taranaki whānau claims where appropriate.
- Southern redress
The Crown will facilitate discussions between Tainui Taranaki and Ngāi Tahu regarding the southernmost cultural interests of Tainui Taranaki iwi.
Relationship Redress
- Protocols
The Deed of Settlement will provide for protocols setting out the way in which specific government agencies will interact with the four Tainui Taranaki iwi in future. Protocols will be issued by the Minister of Conservation, the Minister of Fisheries, the Minister of Energy; and the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage.
- Promotion of relationship with local authorities
The Crown will write to relevant local authorities encouraging them to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the four Tainui Taranaki iwi in respect of matters within their areas of interest north of the Ngāi Tahu takiwā.
- Place name changes
The Crown invites the three Te Tau Ihu mandated groups to work together on a joint list of proposed place name changes, to be discussed with Ngāi Tahu where appropriate, for submission to the New Zealand Geographic Board/ Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa.
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Financial and Commercial Redress
The financial and commercial redress package is made up of:
a) A financial quantum of $35 million cash, $2 million of which was paid on account of settlement on the signing of the Letter of Agreement. Interest will accrue on the remainder of the financial quantum through to the signing of the Deed of Settlement.
b) The reimbursement of the Tainui Taranaki costs of appearing before the Waitangi Tribunal up to a maximum amount of $3 million
c) $300,000 for the purchase of endowment lands at Motueka
d) The gifting of Crown commercial properties with cultural associations up to a value of $12.04 million
e) The opportunity to purchase up to 50% by value of the licensed Crown forest land in Te Tau Ihu, and the right to accumulated rentals and any New Zealand Emission Units associated with that land
f) Sale and leaseback arrangements over certain Crown-owned properties within the four Tainui Taranaki areas of interest
g) The opportunity to purchase certain Crown-owned properties within the four Tainui Taranaki iwi areas of interest
h) The opportunity to purchase at market value surplus Crown-owned properties within the four Tainui Taranaki iwi areas of interest, for a period of up to 169 years from Settlement Date, through a Right of First Refusal.
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Next steps
The Letter of Agreement is subject to the Crown confirming that those groups who also claim overlapping interests (in relation to the settlement redress outlined above) have been addressed to the satisfaction of the Crown. A large number of these overlapping issues were resolved prior to the signing of the Letter of Agreement, but there are a number that are still to be addressed and these will be a priority for the next stage of negotiations.
Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga and the Crown will now draft a detailed Deed of Settlement, which will be subject to ratification by the Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga claimant community. All eligible registered members of the four Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga iwi will have the opportunity to vote on whether to accept the Crown’s offer as set out in the Deed of Settlement. The four Tainui Taranaki iwi will also develop governance arrangements for holding and managing the settlement redress, which members will also have the opportunity to ratify.
If the Tainui Taranaki iwi ratify the Deed of Settlement and any governance arrangements, the Deed will be signed, and the settlement will be implemented through legislation. The settlement will be for the benefit of all members of the four Tainui Taranaki iwi.
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Questions and Answers
1. What is the total cost to the Crown?
The cost to the Crown of redress offered to the four Tainui Taranaki iwi is $53.69 million, which includes interest from the date of the signing of the Letter of Agreement, Tribunal costs funding, funding for endowment lands, and the value of commercial properties with cultural association. The value of properties included in the total is estimated, and will be confirmed as negotiations progress. In addition, the four Tainui Taranaki iwi will receive accumulated rentals and New Zealand Emission Units associated with the licensed Crown forest land they purchase through the settlement, which total approximately $45.6 million. These are not costs to the Crown.
2. Is there any private land involved?
No. No private properties are included in the settlement, including those with section 27B memorials under the State-Owned Enterprise Act.
3. What happens to memorials on private titles?
Memorials were included on the titles of land sold by State-Owned Enterprises and some other Government entities following the passage of the State Owned Enterprise Act 1987. These memorials alert buyers that this land may be used in historical settlements. The Settlement legislation, once passed, will remove the ability of Tainui Taranaki to seek the use of properties with s27B memorials on the titles for historical settlements. The memorials will be removed when all other groups with interests in the area have settled their claims.
4. Are the public’s rights affected?
10 conservation sites, totalling approximately 17 hectares, are being returned to the four Tainui Taranaki iwi without provision for future public access. These sites are of particular cultural significance, for example urupa (gravesites), and are not located in areas subject to regular public use.
5. What are Statutory Acknowledgments and Deeds of Recognition?
Statutory Acknowledgements acknowledge areas or sites with which claimant groups have a special relationship, and will be recognised in any proceedings under the Resource Management Act. This provision aims to avoid past problems with land development for roading and other purposes when areas of significance to Māori, such as burial grounds, were simply cleared or excavated without either permission or consultation. It is not a property right. Neither is it exclusive.
Deeds of Recognition set out an agreement between the administering Crown body (the Minister of Conservation) and a claimant group in recognition of their special association with a site as stated in a Statutory Acknowledgement, and specify the nature of their input into the management of the site.
Statutory Acknowledgements and Deeds of Recognition are included in most historical cultural redress packages
6. What is an Overlay Classification?
The Overlay Classification (known as a Tōpuni or Whenua Rāhui in some other settlements) acknowledges the traditional, cultural, spiritual and historical association of an iwi with certain sites of significance administered by the Department of Conservation.
An Overlay Classification status requires the Minister of Conservation and the settling group to develop and publicise a set of principles that will assist the Minister to avoid harming or diminishing values of the settling group with regard to that land. The New Zealand Conservation Authority and relevant Conservation Boards will also be required to have regard to the principles and consult with the settling group.
7. What is a Kaitiaki Instrument?
A Kaitiaki instrument provides the settling group with the right to provide advice on key cultural issues relating to the management of specific flora and/or fauna on Department of Conservation land directly to the Minister of Conservation.
8. Are any place names changed?
The three Te Tau Ihu mandated groups representing the eight iwi of Te Tau Ihu are invited to work together on a joint list for submission to the New Zealand Geographic Board/ Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa, to be processed under the usual statutory provisions followed by the Board.
9. Are any National Parks affected by the Settlement?
Statutory Acknowledgements and Deeds of Recognition have been offered over three sites in National Parks – Lake Rotoiti, Lake Rotoroa, and the Abel Tasman monument in Abel Tasman National Park. These instruments do not affect the conservation values of the sites or public access to them.
10. Does the settlement create any special rights for the four Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga iwi?
No new rights are being created by this agreement. Provisions in relation to conservation, such as Statutory Acknowledgements, give practical effect to existing provisions of both the Resource Management Act and the Conservation Act that provide for Mâori participation in conservation and planning matters.
11. When will the settlement take effect?
A Deed of Settlement based on this agreement will be drafted in the course of the next year. If ratified, and settlement legislation is passed to implement it, the Deed of Settlement will become unconditional and the terms of the settlement will take effect. This could occur in 2009.
12. Do the four Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga iwi have the right to come back and make further claims about the behaviour of the Crown in the 19th and 20th centuries?
No. If a Deed of Settlement is ratified and passed into law, the 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 the four Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga iwi. The settlement legislation, once passed, will prevent the Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga iwi from re-litigating the claim before the Tribunal or the courts.
The settlement package will still allow Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga or members of its constituent iwi 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.
13. Who benefits from the settlement?
All members of the Tainui Taranaki iwi, wherever they may now live.
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