Eleventh-hour talks with tribe over Waikato River

Helen Clark

Last-minute negotiations between top Government ministers and Tainui were under way last night over a deal to give the tribe some form of control over the Waikato River.

Talks intensified yesterday ahead of an expected announcement by Prime Minister Helen Clark today on the state of negotiations and the Government's commitment to resolving Tainui's Waikato River claim.

At the heart of the matter is Tainui's right to manage the river. The outcome of last night's negotiations is likely to form the basis of how the Government will handle the tribe's claim.

The Herald understands that senior ministers, including Treaty Negotiations Minister Mark Burton, Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia and Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen, were involved in conference-call negotiations with the tribe last night.

The group is understood to have met senior tribal members, including chief negotiators Raiha Mahuta, mother of Tainui MP Nanaia Mahuta, and chairman Tuku Morgan.

Helen Clark and about 18 Labour Cabinet ministers are expected at commemorations marking the 40th anniversary of the crowning of Maori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu at Turangawaewae marae in Ngaruawahia.

The Prime Minister said this morning that she was not aware of any last minute negotiations on the issue. She told Newstalk ZB: "We are not in a position to announce an agreement in principle this afternoon."

Dame Te Ata will personally welcome Helen Clark to the marae this morning.

The gathering has drawn tens of thousands of people, including iwi leaders from throughout the country.

Mr Morgan said yesterday that negotiations were at a delicate stage and declined to comment further. But the Herald understands the tribe's negotiators have been pressured to make progress in time for the Prime Minister's announcement.

A senior tribal source, who declined to be named, said the tribe had had to wait almost 150 years for the river's return, and would not be bullied into a decision to serve the Government's interests.

The National Party has accused Labour of using the event to curry favour with Maori by fast-tracking river negotiations.

The river and the tribe's west coast harbours were excluded from its $170 million 1995 treaty settlement.

It is understood talks have become bogged down in details of a possible tribal co-management role and how much influence Tainui should have on who has the use of the river's water.

Tainui is likely to be seeking recognition of its customary authority over the river, title to the riverbed and acknowledgment of its view on indivisibility, sharing decision-making rights on water allocations, probably financial compensation for the 1860 confiscation of the river and definitely an agreement to clean up the river.

The Government's policy is that it can return the ownership of lake and river beds to iwi, although no major river beds have yet been returned.

But it refuses to acknowledge any claims for ownership of water, which has been a major sticking point in past talks over the Whanganui River.

Helen Clark's announcement is expected to be a highlight of today's events, which will also see the arrival of senior royal dignitaries from the Pacific islands, including Tonga, Hawaii and Samoa.