The land at Ihumātao was confiscated from mana whenua in 1863. Photo / Peter Meecham
The land at Ihumātao was confiscated from mana whenua in 1863. Photo / Peter Meecham
COMMENT:
The mass protest against a housing development at Ihumātao has entered its third week with little signs of a resolution being found rapidly. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a halt to construction while all parties worked to find a solution. These are four ideas of what a solution could look like.
1. Fletcher could gift the land to iwi
Fletcher Residential purchased the 32ha block of land in 2016 after it was designated a Special Housing Area in 2014 allowing for fast-track development.
After initially opposing the development and SHA designation, tribal authority Te Kawerau a Maki reached a deal with Fletcher to have 25 per cent of the land returned (about eight hectares) and 40 houses set aside for their people.
Amid mounting protests the company indicated in February this year a willingness to sell the site, valued at $36m, for the right offer.
Commentators have suggested a gift of the land to iwi could assist the company's "social licence to operate". It would also avoid potential complications of a Government purchase setting precedents for other Māori land disputes, which have not historically included private land.
A gift could also go a long way to improving the majority-foreign-owned company's public image, but following recent financial troubles it could be a difficult sell for shareholders.
Given that situation a gift is unlikely, and the company is much more likely to be seeking at least some return on its increasingly risky investment.
Fletcher has not responded to requests for comment.
2. Government purchase the land and return it to mana whenua
The land at Ihumātao was confiscated by the Crown in 1863 and then sold to the Wallace family in 1869.
Save Our Unique Landscape (Soul) argues this is why it needs to be returned, and many commentators agree.
"There is a lot going on, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that land was confiscated, and has led to the complexities we see there today," lawyer Moana Jackson said.
The right thing for the Government to do is to buy the land back and allow mana whenua to decide its future, he said.
But the Government has expressed concern doing so could open the floodgates for private land, historically left out of Treaty settlements and Māori land disputes, across the country to be returned.
Māori studies professor Margaret Mutu said those fears were unfounded.
"It is not as if Māori are asking for the whole country, just areas where (it has) been onsold by the government that have a really strong impact, that have really clear wāhi tapu values, and Ihumātao is a classic example."
The reason private land had been excluded from negotiations was arbitrary and made no sense if there was a willing seller as in this case, Mutu said.
Former University of Auckland senior lecturer John McCaffery said given complexities of who has mana whenua over the area the "only moral thing is to find a way for the land to be returned".
"If this is accompanied with the same housing benefits that Te Kawerau a Maki has negotiated with Fletchers, a deal can be achieved."
3. Auckland Council could purchase the land and return it to mana whenua
There is nothing legally stopping Auckland Council from purchasing the land at Ihumātao - perhaps just the touted $36m price tag.
In 1999 the old Manukau City Council bought 100ha of land next to Manukau Harbour and designated it the Ōtuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve.
It planned to have the remaining land - the land currently in dispute - designated as public open space, but this was challenged successfully in the Environment Court and the council was directed to rezone it from rural to business or residential.
The land was later designated a SHA, allowing for fast-track development, and in 2016 the landowners accepted an offer from Fletcher Residential, after previously turning down an undisclosed council offer rumoured to be much lower.
Commentators have suggested Auckland Council could purchase the land - valued at $36m - to resolve the current dispute and then enter negotiations with iwi and mana whenua over the next steps.
From there it could become a reserve with co-governance arrangements, and an area set aside for Māori housing.
Construction of a housing development at Ihumātao has been halted while parties work to find a solution. Photo / Dean Purcell
This week Auckland Council added a 8.9ha block to the Ōtuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve, and some councillors also recently expressed regret over supporting the SHA designation that allowed for the development.
The council clearly intends to see a just resolution supported by mana whenua, perhaps the only factor here is how much it might cost.
4. The status quo
Tribal authority Te Kawerau a Maki fought for years to oppose the development, but having lost in the courts decided to negotiate.
Chair Te Warena Taua has consistently said the return of land and housing set aside for their people, along with protection wāhi tapu on the land, are the best they will get.
Fletcher plans to build 480 homes on the remaining 75 per cent of the land.
