Crown's Kaipara settlement 'patronising' to Maori

A Waitangi tribunal report has labelled the Government negligent and extravagant in its handling of a 2002 Treaty settlement with a Northland sub-tribe.

Tribunal member and former Labour MP Dr Michael Bassett delivered a stinging criticism of the Crown's $15.6 million settlement with Kaipara hapu Te Uri o Hau, in a minority opinion as part of a Waitangi Tribunal report on claims by Maori tribal groups in the Southern Kaipara.

Dr Bassett said the settlement - negotiated directly between Te Uri o Hau and the Government - forced the tribunal to make decisions based on precedent not backed up by evidence.

"The Crown accepted responsibility for failures by the Crown that were not proven," Dr Bassett said.

He said the Te Uri o Hau settlement was based on "untested assertions" and was "patronising of Maori" with sections of the legislation painting Maori as passive victims of Crown actions.

"It is entirely possible that, had the tribunal been given time to weigh the claimant arguments before the [Te Uri o Hau Settlement] act was passed, it might well have been less sweeping with its findings against the Crown than was the legislation."

He said the Government's "murky" attempts at "legislating history" now ensured any settlement for Southern Kaipara would need to be comparable.

A spokesman for duty minister Jim Anderton yesterday said the Government wanted to familiarise itself with the report before commenting and would be better able to do so today.

The criticisms are included in a tribunal report into 14 claims covering up to 400,000ha of Maori-owned land between Dargaville and Muriwai, and from Mangawhai to Riverhead.

Delivered at a ceremony at Helensville's Haranui marae on Saturday, the tribunal found claims by Ngati Whatua o Kaipara and four other southern Kaipara claimants were well founded, and recommended that the Government negotiate a comprehensive settlement.

Key issues raised in the report included the Government's purchase policies before 1865, including failure to provide Maori reserves and promises of future benefits for Maori.

The tribunal accepted that while Maori were at times willing sellers, the Crown did not do enough to protect their long-term interests.

"The legacy to Ngati Whatua of over 150 years of Pakeha settlement in Southern Kaipara is a number of small Maori communities struggling to survive on remnant scraps of land and limited resources."

Government legislation including the creation of the Native Land Court, doing away with customary communal land ownership for individual title, were also seen as key causes for the rapid depletion of iwi land holdings.

Creating "a property right that an individual owner could dispose of without reference to his or her whanau or hapu", Dr Bassett said.

While supporting the bulk of the tribunal's findings, Dr Bassett said the report downplayed the significance of chiefs in the sale of Maori land.

"In my view, the actions of chiefs contributed ultimately to the collapse of their status, and, more than any other factor, that gradual occurrence contributed to the break-up of traditional Maori society and to a feeling of helplessness experienced by some Kaipara Maori.

"While the Crown failed Maori in several respects, many Maori failed their own descendants with actions they took during the 19th century."

He said many Maori were willing land sellers, who were eager to integrate into the new society.

Any attempt by the Crown to block sales would have been both patronising to Maori and a breach of article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi that reserved the rights to chiefs in relation to their land.

Kaipara inquiry

* 1997 - Kaipara inquiry begins, including Te Uri o Hau claim.
* 1999 - Ngati Whatua claims to Muriwai beach and harbour heard.
* 2000 - Te Uri o Hau enter direct negotiations with Crown.
* 2001 - Claims to Mangawhai Forest, and lands extending to Dargaville investigated.
* 2002 - Te Uri o Hau Settlement Act passed.
* 2006 - Report on remaining Kaipara claims delivered.
* Tribunal finds in favour of Ngati Whatua o Kaipara and four other claimants, and recommends that the Government negotiates a comprehensive settlement. The Crown is not bound by tribunal recommendations.