Bay of Islands hapu reject Ngāpuhi Treaty settlement proposal

Minister of Treaty Negotiations Andrew Little (second from left) with Rudy Taylor (left) and Pita Tipene (Te Kotahitanga) and Hone Sadler (behind) and Sonny Tau (Tūhoronuku).

A series of hui to discuss the Ngāpuhi Treaty Settlement plan has ended in Northland with a Bay of Islands hapū already rejecting the proposed model.

The meetings were held in Northland last week in what was the third round of consultation hui on the proposal to evolve the Ngāpuhi mandate and negotiations structure.

Bay Of Islands-based hapū Ngāti Manu was the first of 110 hapū to formally reject the settlement proposal, saying the hapu will directly negotiate with the Crown.

"It has been done before with other hapū, we are not going to be scared or bullied into the rhetoric 'it could take years', it already has," Ngāti Manu spokeswoman Phoebe Davis said.

Te Rōpū Tūhono - which brings together Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little; the chairman and deputy chairman of Tūhoronuku, who hold the Crown recognised mandate to negotiate claims on behalf of Ngāpuhi, and the co-chairs of Te Kotahitanga, who opposed the Crown's recognition of that mandate - have held three consultation hui over the past few months around New Zealand and Australia.

The latest round of hui kicked off on October 12 with the last Northland hui being held on Sunday - hui are still being held around the country and in Australia.

In a statement, Ngāti Manū said that at the consultation hui many hapū representatives spoke out against the Crown process.

"Only Ngāti Manu speaks for Ngāti Manu. Ngāti Manu continues to assert our hapū rangatiratanga," the statement said.

Introducing a hapū withdrawal mechanism was recommended by the Waitangi Tribunal following an urgent inquiry into the Crown's recognition of Tūhoronuku's mandate.

In a presentation prepared for the hui it said the Crown's ability to engage on mandate work with hapū will depend on Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS) resource and capacity at any given time.

It said at this time, OTS has no capacity for any additional mandate.

"Even if mandate for exited hapū is achieved that does not mean the Crown would be able to commence direct negotiations immediately. The Crown negotiating resources are already committed to the end of 2020," it said.

Feedback and submissions of the proposals will be assessed on October 23.

A final proposal will be considered on October 25 by Te Rōpū Tūhono, before further consultation and a potential vote in December, which will need 75 per cent member support and 65 per cent support of hapū to progress towards Treaty settlement negotiations.

Once finalised, the settlement is expected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Ngāpuhi.