Kaipara District Council has terminated its formal relationship agreements with local iwi in a move described as devastating by Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust chairman Reno Skipper.
The council last week canned its agreements with the settlement trust and Te Iwi o Te Roroa — one of which had been in place for more than 20 years — in what is effectively an at-least temporary divorce between the council and the two entities.
The council’s memorandum of understanding with Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust and mana enhancing agreement with Te Iwi o Te Roroa was in place as part of the entities’ Waitangi Treaty settlements.
“It seems strange when there is a memorandum of understanding between two parties and only one party is making a decision about that memorandum,” Skipper said.
Skipper said the settlement trust was expected to discuss the termination at its annual meeting at Ripia Marae in Te Kopuru last weekend.
Te Uri o Hau Settlment Trust Chairman Reno Skipper Photo / Michael Cunningham
A spokesperson said Te Iwi o Te Roroa did not wish to comment on the council decision “at this time” when approached by Local Democracy Reporting Northland.
Kaipara District Mayor Craig Jepson led the charge to terminate the agreements and end associated bulk funding for iwi council-related work.
He said the terminations were about making sure the waters would not be muddied ahead of the council setting up replacement relationship agreements.
“I look forward to working together to form and complete and ratify new agreements that will be supported by all parties,” Jepson said.
“We have a great opportunity here to clarify a whole bunch of issues I see in those existing agreements, and we need to get on with it and do that in good faith.”
Costs for iwi council-related work would now be submitted to KDC ad hoc, Jepson said.
The decision comes despite politicians knowing it will mean more council costs.
KDC decided in a narrow 5:4 one-person majority vote last Wednesday to terminate the agreements, after an hour of deadlocked voting on alternatives, as the council’s 10 politicians split into two opposing quintets.
This was eventually broken only when Mangawhai’s councillor Mike Howardabstained from the final termination vote, after originally being among councillors pushing for alternatives.
No meeting decision was made on when new agreements would be in place, but Howard said urgency was required.
Councillors against the termination warned of loss of good faith, further amplifying mistrust and intensifying community polarisation, and unecessary extra council costs as a result of the termination decision.
Kaipara District Council, (back from left) Rachael Williams, Gordon Lambeth, Jonathan Larsen (deputy mayor), Mike Howard, Eryn Wilson-Collins, Mark Vincent.; (front) Ron Manderson, Craig Jepson (mayor), Pera Paniora and Ash Nayaar. Photo / Susan Botting
Jepson, Deputy Mayor Jonathan Larsen and councillors Gordon Lambeth, Ron Manderson and Rachael Williams voted to terminate the existing arrangements and, retrospectively, council’s bulk funding for the involvement by both iwi in crucial KDC roles. This has not been paid to the iwi since July 1, the start of the council financial year, despite the formal decision to stop the payments being made on September 24.
Councillors Ash Nayyar, Pera Paniora, Mark Vincent and Eryn Wilson-Collins voted against the termination. Howard abstained. They unsuccessfully fought for KDC to instead keep the status quo arrangements and associated bulk funding. They also alternatively pushed for existing formal agreements to stay rather than be terminated, while the review of these was carried out.
Wilson-Collins warned the meeting that a decision was being made despite a predominance of negative rather than positive supporting evidence.
“This doesn’t look good to our community, it doesn’t look good to our Māori community because we are effectively ignoring the advice and information that has been provided to us to be able to make a decision,” Wilson-Collins said.
She said there were significant risk factors with the decision. It would come against the backdrop of the Te Runanga o Ngāti Whātua’s High Court challenge to the council’s August 7 decision to can its Māori ward.
Councillor Paniora warned that should the council make the decision it in the end chose, it would be breaching section 82 of the Local Government Act around consultation.
Jepson said the meeting’s decision came after consultation with both entities.
