The pressure is on for a quick resolution at Ihumātao. Photo / Dean Purcell
The pressure is on for a quick resolution at Ihumātao. Photo / Dean Purcell
The pressure is on Labour to deliver its promise of settling the dispute at Ihumātao with "handbrake" NZ First now out of the way and a record number of Māori MPs in its caucus.
And top Labour Māori MP Peeni Henare says it will be on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's agenda once "the election dust settles".
A deal was rumoured to be near before Waitangi Day this year, which would have meant the land, confiscated from Māori in 1863, was returned to mana whenua, many of whom have been fighting a major Fletcher housing development planned for years.
But Labour's coalition partner NZ First opposed any intervention at the Māngere site near Auckland Airport. Leader Winston Peters stated before the election his party had "staved off" any action before polling day.
The landslide election victory means Labour and its Māori caucus now have a record 15 MPs, along with two new Māori MPs in the Greens, and the likely return of the Māori Party through Waiariki candidate Rawiri Waititi.
The election result has also put NZ First out of Parliament.
Pania Newton, a representative for Save Our Unique Landscape, said with NZ First out of the way and strong Māori representation, Labour needed to honour its commitment to return the whenua in favour of mana whenua and ahi kaa.
With NZ First gone, she also called for a renegotiation of the previous deal.
"I think it would show support and goodwill to tangata whenua to allow us to renegotiate the deal, now that NZ First is not there."
She said the initial deal involved acquiring and returning the land through the Housing Act, but without properly acknowledging the impacts of the original confiscation and the injustice.
"It didn't uphold the rights of tangata whenua and it really didn't acknowledge the confiscation and injustice. I think they were just using the Housing Act as a scapegoat."
Pania Newton wants all the parties back at the table now NZ First is gone. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Newton has the full backing of the Māori Party, which is likely returning to Parliament after a stunning result for Rawiri Waititi in the Waiariki electorate.
"It is simple: it is confiscated land, and they need to give it back, and before the year is out," said Waititi, who beat Labour's Tāmati Coffey on Saturday by more than 400 votes, although special votes are still to be counted.
Now NZ First was gone and with a "very strong" Labour Government and high Māori membership, Waititi backed Newton's call for a deal to be relooked at to ensure it was the "greatest deal possible".
"It needs to recognise the land was confiscated, that it was a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi, and that it had an enduring impact on the people there."
The Waitangi Tribunal has never been given power to hear claims over privately owned land, meaning Ihumātao has not been part of any Treaty settlement.
The Māori Party has long opposed this Crown policy, and the concept of settlements being "full and final".
"This is something I will be pushing hard for. We are unapologetic about these kinds of issues, and now the handbrake of NZ First is gone."
The Greens, who are looking to have 10 MPs in Parliament and a Māori caucus of three, have also strongly been in favour of a mana whenua-focused settlement at the site.
Former Māori National MP and political analyst Claudette Hauiti said now was the time for Ardern to step up.
"She's not handcuffed by New Zealand First. Now's the time to step up and action the strategy that they [Labour] always wanted to put in place, that is to work hand in hand with mana whenua, develop some housing, but keep the integrity of the environment."
Former Māori Labour MP Georgina Beyer said she expected the new Government to "nail that one very quickly".
"The indication I got prior to the election was that they were not far off it. One of the major blockages of this being resolved earlier is now out of the picture."
The Māori Party's Rawiri Waititi, who won the Waiariki seat based on preliminary results, said the land needed to be returned before the year was out. Photo / File
Former Labour Māori Affairs Minister Dover Samuels also backed a quick resolution.
"This is an unprecedented opportunity to really deliver for Māori, and Māoridom will be expecting a lot from them."
Speaking on Māori TV's Te Ao on Sunday, Henare, who again won the Tāmaki Makaurau seat, said discussions around Ihumātao were well advanced and it was a priority for the Prime Minister.
"She's made herself clear that she wants to find a resolution there.
"We've done a lot of the hard work and heavy lifting in discussions on that matter with the Kīngitanga, with King Tūheitia, and, of course, with the whānau out at Ihumātao, as well as some of the officials.
"But we've got to wait until the dust settles, the numbers are in and that'll be a topic of discussion for us."
Labour's Kelvin Davis says the Government will continue to work and find the right solution.
"We've been working on a solution that all parties can live with [since] before the election."
Labour Party MP Peeni Henare said Ihumātao would be back on the table after the "election dust has settled". Photo / Alex Burton
Ihumātao: a history
The block of land was confiscated from Māori in 1863 ahead of the Crown-led Waikato War against the Kīngitanga, and later sold to the Wallace family.
In 2014 it was designated a Special Housing Area, so development could be fast-tracked, and was bought by Fletcher Residential in 2016 which planned to build 480 houses on the 32-hectare site.
The Waitangi Tribunal has no power over privately owned land meaning it has not been part of any Treaty settlement, but local iwi did fight the site's designation as a Special Housing Area and opposed its sale to Fletcher.
When they lost that battle, elders and iwi leaders from Te Kawerau ā Maki decided the next best thing was to negotiate concessions for mana whenua, including returning 8ha and allocating 40 homes for local whānau via a shared equity scheme.
But Soul kept fighting. About a dozen of them have been occupying the land since 2016, taking their fight to the UN, and petitioning Auckland Council in order to stop building going ahead.
They want the land, rumoured to be worth $36 million, returned to mana whenua and included in the neighbouring stonefields as a reserve, open to all.
Meanwhile, other mana whenua groups say some of the land could be reserved for iwi housing.
In July last year, as the protest ramped up, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stepped in and called a halt to the development while all parties negotiated a deal.
In February Heritage NZ gave the site, one of the earliest Māori settlements, category 1 status - the highest listing available and regarded as a place of "special or outstanding heritage significance".
