KEY POINTS:
Treaty settlements in Auckland are always going to attract significant interest - after all, the city is the jewel in the crown. As the primary economic driver, and with high commercial and residential land values, central Auckland is a prize which many tribes will now seek a connection with.
Ngati Whatua o Orakei, in Aucklanders' eyes, has always been the "Auckland tribe". We have also been first to assert our Treaty position.
Ably led by Sir Hugh Kawharu until his recent untimely death, we have, for the past four years, ground out a deal with the Crown for the settlement of historical grievances. The process has been arduous and we did not get everything we wanted.
However, with an attitude of pragmatism and focus on moving beyond grievance and towards partnership, the negotiating team continues its work.
Now that the results of those negotiations have been made public in an Agreement in Principle, other tribes or tribal groups have an opportunity to set out any concerns with the deal from their perspective.
The Treaty process being followed is set down by the Office Of Treaty Settlements. There are options for how a claim is pursued, however. Ngati Whatua o Orakei decided to take the option of negotiating directly with the Crown to settle its Treaty grievances. The alternative route is to go to the Waitangi Tribunal for a ruling about the legitimacy of the grievance first and then negotiate with the Crown based on that finding.
We decided our preference was to face the Crown directly, negotiate directly, settle and then move on.
This is possible because the history and status of Ngati Whatua o Orakei within the Auckland isthmus is already well established. In 1869, Judge Fenton in the Maori Land Court looked at the evidence before him at that time and recorded that Ngati Whatua o Orakei was the dominant tribe of the central Auckland area. Later in 1987, the Waitangi Tribunal produced a report that came to the same conclusion.
And, as part of getting to the Agreement in Principle, a third document has also been produced that backs that status - the Agreed Historical Account. The painstaking development of that agreed account between the Crown and Ngati Whatua o Orakei details what has happened in dealings between the Crown and our hapu since 1840.
Together, these three documents create a tested and convincing trail.
We can also show how historically we established control of the Auckland isthmus in the 1700s and, since that time, we have kept our fires burning here.
What happens now is that those tribes who claim interests in Auckland can assert their claims - some of which will be valid.
An interesting point to note when anyone reads about Treaty claims is the key date is 1840. It is not about who was where in 1540 or 1640 or 1740. The settlement process focuses on and after 1840.
The Settlement for Ngati Whatua o Orakei involves a small cash component - I suggest less than most Aucklanders would have expected. Instead of cash, we focused on creating an ability for Ngati Whatua o Orakei to buy key pieces of land at market prices from the Crown as they become available.
Not every tribal group has the capability to create benefit from such a deal. But Ngati Whatua o Orakei has already built a significant portfolio of commercial property in Auckland's CBD and has built an expertise in commercial property. We are confident in our ability to make our own way. In essence, if we are successful in building financial resources to assist our people, it will be of our own making.
What Ngati Whatua o Orakei has done is to follow the Treaty process in a methodical way. Step by step with evidence supporting each phase. We have always been aware there would likely be tension with individuals and some other tribal groups after the Agreement in Principle reached with the Crown was announced. That is normal in Treaty processes.
Ngati Whatua o Orakei does not claim exclusive interests to all of Auckland and the Agreement in Principle reached with the Crown reflects this.
The negotiating team insisted on setting aside large areas of Auckland that fall outside of Ngati Whatua o Orakei's primary area to be available for other tribal groups to settle.
Even within this exclusive area, parts are left for Waikato interests, which acknowledges historical relationships.
Ngati Whatua o Orakei wants nothing more than to put the grievances behind us by signing a Deed of Settlement with the Crown. We have a positive contribution to make to Auckland's future and we would like to get on with making that contribution.
Such a signing in no way hinders those tribal groups with claims to make. They can go through the same process that we have done to negotiate a settlement with the Crown.
