KEY POINTS:
Overlapping claims are a feature of every Treaty settlement. From time to time these issues are inquired into by the Waitangi Tribunal.
The Herald recently reported on concerns that the Office of Treaty Settlements suppressed documents in the Waitangi Tribunal's inquiry into the proposed Ngati Whatua o Orakei settlement.
The public can be assured that the office, as the Crown's representative in Treaty negotiations, is co-operating fully with the inquiry, as it has in previous inquiries.
Before this tribunal inquiry the office supplied more than 240 documents. At that time, it considered a further 18 documents were not relevant as their content was of marginal significance to the inquiry, or were written at a preliminary stage in the negotiations process.
The tribunal disagreed with that assessment so the office supplied the 18 documents as requested.
Ngati Whatua o Orakei have genuine, longstanding historical grievances which they and the Crown want to settle. The Crown also needs to retain enough settlement assets to settle with neighbouring groups (or overlapping claimants) in the Auckland area.
One way the Office of Treaty Settlements approached this task was to ask neighbouring groups at the start of negotiations about their interests in the area claimed by Ngati Whatua o Orakei.
The Agreement in Principle was developed with these other interests in mind, and includes redress from a limited part of Ngati Whatua o Orakei's claim area.
But the most important part of consulting with neighbouring groups starts once an Agreement in Principle is signed - the outline of a settlement has been agreed but the details are to be negotiated and it is yet to become binding.
Agreements in Principle are conditional on overlapping claims being resolved to the Crown's satisfaction. In the past, the Crown has amended some settlement offers to take into account overlapping claimant views.
Since the signing of the Ngati Whatua o Orakei Agreement, the Office of Treaty Settlements has written to more than 30 overlapping claimant groups and individuals and is talking to them to get their views on the proposed settlement package.
It can be complicated to sort through centuries of history and whakapapa to establish who has valid interests in an area, and the Crown strongly prefers claimants to settle this among themselves.
Unfortunately this doesn't always happen. There may be longstanding rivalries between iwi over historical rights. Sometimes groups which are not involved in negotiations may believe they have little to gain by supporting redress for their neighbours.
Some neighbouring claimant groups have expressed concerns with the proposed Ngati Whatua o Orakei settlement. They requested a Waitangi Tribunal inquiry, which has run alongside the Crown's consultation.
In the past, the tribunal has inquired into some settlements in this way and given the Crown useful guidance on dealing with overlapping claimants.
The tribunal has said that "if [it] were to take the view that the Crown ought not to deliver redress to any claimant where there are overlapping or cross-claims, the repercussions for the Crown's settlement policy would be very serious. It would thwart the desire on the part of both the Crown and Maori claimants to achieve closure in respect of their historical Treaty grievances".
"Indefinite delay to the conclusion of Treaty settlements all around the country is an outcome that this Tribunal seeks to avoid."
Treaty settlement negotiations are long, complex and difficult. Negotiations with Ngati Whatua o Orakei took more than three years to reach an Agreement in Principle. Office of Treaty Settlements and the Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations are now negotiating a Deed of Settlement with Ngati Whatua o Orakei.
This is extremely challenging for claimant groups as they work to put 160 years of grievance behind them. Those who have, though, have built strong relationships with the Crown during negotiations.
This is an important part of healing the relationship between the Crown and Maori so the Treaty is not breached again in the future.
The Agreement in Principle with Ngati Whatua o Orakei is one step towards settling claims over Auckland. There is a lot to be done before that settlement is finalised.
Negotiations with other groups who have interests in Auckland are yet to come. The office is working with some of these groups to resolve the issues that have held them back from negotiations to date.
The Crown's ultimate goal is to resolve all historical claims, not just those of Ngati Whatua o Orakei. The Crown is mindful of this as we work towards reaching our goal, settlement by settlement.
