Chris Finlayson at Parliament shortly before retiring from politics in 2018. Photo / Mark Mitchell
There are three types of Cabinet minister, so the theory goes: those who know exactly what they want and get it done, those who are competent but largely do what their officials want, and those who may be better suited to other lines of work.
Chris Finlayson was clearly in the first category as John Key's Treaty Negotiations Minister for nine years from 2008 to 2017.
As Finlayson himself says in his first book since leaving politics, He Kupu Taurangi, Treaty Settlements and the Future of Aotearoa New Zealand, his annual interview with the Prime Minister on his priorities for the year ahead lasted between 30 seconds and five minutes.
"My job was to settle as many Treaty claims as possible," he says in the book. "That never required much discussion."
He once passed a less fortunate colleague coming out of the PM's office who had been in there for two hours.
Just on 80 settlements were signed between 1993, when Prime Minister Jim Bolger and Minister Doug Graham began the settlements process, and 2017 when Finlayson left office - and he signed 75 per cent of them.
He estimates that by the time the historic settlement process is finished in a few years, the total costs will be about $3 billion.
There is not much evidence of Finlayson's famously acerbic wit in the book. But there is plenty of three-dimensional stories and reflections on the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, the breaches, the settlements and the future of the Crown-Maori relationship.
Finlayson tells the Herald the book was deliberately pitched at "the intelligent lay person so that they understand what has been going on for the past 30 or so years".
"It is aimed at saying to people of goodwill that this is a project where this country has done very well - it is bipartisan project – and yes there will be tensions and everyone will get up one another's nose on a regular basis but it is worth the effort.
"Other countries have problems; we have a project."
It isn't just the momentum for settlements that marked Finlayson's tenure, but the novel types of settlements, which are set out in the book, co-authored by former adviser James Christmas.
Most notable are the arrangements for co-governance of natural features such as rivers and volcanic cones, and the landmark settlements with Ngai Tuhoe and for the Whanganui River.
Finlayson finds the debate going on in New Zealand today over co-governance intriguing because the principle of co-governance was not challenged in 2009 when the model was first set up involving iwi in the management of the Waikato River.
"I just think there needs to be a bit of discussion about what exactly is the concern and does it extend to what we did in Government between 2008 and 2017."
Finlayson believes there should be further debate about whether co-governance should be extended to other parts of Government.
"That kind of debate doesn't worry me at all.
"I perhaps take the view that in many areas the Crown has failed, and so having greater involvement of Māori at the design stage is no bad thing and in certain areas it would seem to make a lot of sense.
"As a liberal conservative, I have always had a healthy scepticism of the ability of governments to do good.''
Finlayson says in the book it is too early to assess the success of the co-goverance arrangements.
The next area of co-governance in Treaty settlements would be over harbours including the Kaipara, Kawhia, Raglan, Aotea, Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames, and that harbour settlements are likely to mark the end point of co-governance negotiations through Treaty settlements.
The Whanganui River and Tuhoe settlements were clearly the most important for Finlayson personally.
They utilised a little used device of "legal personality'' for Te Urewera National Park, as it was, and the Whanganui River, aimed at providing a bridge between the Māori world view and the common law legal system.
It allowed the Te Urewera to be transformed from an area owned by the Government into its own legal entity.
And in terms of the Whanganui River, it allowed the settlement to recognise the iwi view that the river is a living entity and give it legal standing it its own right.
Other things point to the personal importance of those two settlements.
The book is dedicated to Whanganui-based Dame Tariana Turia, the former Māori Party co-leader, whose party was in Government with National and whom Finlayson describes as "the best of the best" in the book.
"She is an amazing person because she is unfailingly courteous and very gentle but she is as tough as old boots," he told the Herald.
He admired her "utter commitment" and work in establishing Whanau Ora.
"I just think she is a very classy individual and I like and admire her very much."
The title page is illustrated with a painting from Turia's personal collection by Tuhoe's Tame Iti. And the cover of the book is from a painting of the Tuhoe apology, which Finlayson commissioned from a friend, 92-year-old Piera McArthur, whom he describes as "a wild painter".
Finlayson first commissioned her to do a painting as a personal gift from him to Tuhoe, which hangs in Tuhoe's premises in Ruatoki. And then he got her to do one for him.
Finlayson writes: "We should not forget that our small size and unitary system can lend itself to radical and innovative solutions when required. Things can change fast.
"If someone had said to me in 2008 that I would be able to remove national park status from Te Urewera only five years later, I would have thought they were crazy.
"Just as the stars aligned on that occasion, so too will they align on others."
The stars certainly aligned when Finlayson became Treaty Negotiations Minister in 2008.
He had been a well-established litigation lawyer and an active member of the National Party firmly in the liberal camp.
He had resisted a run at Parliament until the foreshore and seabed furore gave him the motivation and he was elected as a list MP in 2005. That gave him a term in opposition, before going into Government.
He was Attorney-General for nine years as well as Treaty Negotiations Minister and has a clear view of the future role of the courts, the Waitangi Tribunal and Parliament.
He believes the courts should take the lead role in determining whether there have been any breaches of Treaty settlements or breaches of the Treaty - which is already part of their inherent powers.
He believes the tribunal's strength has been on historical claims, that it should stick with that, and it should no longer hear contemporary claims.
"The tribunal has done some very good work. Some of its reports are magisterial. But I just think the contemporary jurisdiction should move to the courts."
He also believes Parliament could take an ongoing active interest in settlements with a select committee holding an annual inquiry to hear submission from post-settlement governance entities and the Crown, and a debate on its report.
The post settlement unit, which is responsible for keeping an eye on more than 7000 commitments made by the Crown in settlements, has been moved to Te Arawhiti.
And does Finlayson think settlements will really be full and final?
"They will be if the Crown honours the settlements. But if the Crown forgets then we'll be back where we started."
• He Kupu Taurangi, Treaty Settlements and the Future of Aotearoa New Zealand. Published by Huia. RRP $60
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