Andrew Little signals fresh start for Ngapuhi negotiations

Andrew Little

The new government is signalling a desire for a renewed effort in the stalled Ngapuhi Treaty negotiations with a series of "listening hui" planned around the North.

Minister for Treaty Negotiations Andrew Little said the Ngapuhi settlement was a top priority so he was keen to start face-to-face meetings with rangatira, key advisers and hapu before Christmas.

Mr Little would meet the main claimant groups, Tuhoronuku and Te Kotahitanga, tomorrow before attending an open hui with Ngapuhi leaders from 9am to noon on Saturday at the Copthorne in Waitangi.

It was the first in a series of hui to "meet, greet and listen to the people of Ngapuhi".
He planned to return in December and February.

"I'm looking forward to being in Te Tai Tokerau for the listening hui as I see this as a new opportunity for genuine consultation with Ngapuhi about their settlement issues, interests and aspirations," Mr Little said.

In June former Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson and the Office of Treaty Settlements withdrew from the process until Ngapuhi worked out a way forward.

The move was welcomed by Tuhoronuku, which said there had been too much government intervention already, and lamented by Te Kotahitanga, which called it "just another setback in a long line of setbacks by the Crown".

Ngapuhi is the country's largest iwi and there are concerns that the lack of a settlement is holding its people back.

When it finally is reached, a settlement could be worth more than $500 million and is expected to bring huge economic benefits for Ngapuhi.

The Crown recognised Tuhoronuku as having a valid mandate to negotiate on behalf of all Ngapuhi, but this was challenged by Te Kotahitanga in the Waitangi Tribunal.

The Waitangi Tribunal found the structures of Tuhoronuku undermined hapu rangatiratanga.

Documents released under the Official Information Act show Ngapuhi received $6,052,823.01 of claimant funding from the Office of Treaty Settlements since the beginning of the Ngapuhi mandate consultation process in 2009.

A spokeswoman for Treaty Negotiation Minister Chris Finlayson said the funding to date reflected that Ngapuhi is the country's largest iwi. She said the Crown worked with Tuhoronuku and Te Kotahitanga, as well as Ngapuhi more broadly, to try to address flaws mentioned in the Waitangi Tribunal report.