Royal honour for 'initial footsteps'

Ngai Takoto leader Rangitane Marsden, who was named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in yesterday's Queen's Birthday honours list, described the award as recognition for those who had begun the iwi's Treaty settlement process 28 years ago, and had not lived to see the results.

"I think this award is about recognising their initial footsteps, and not being around to see where we are today," he said.

As head negotiator and chief executive of Te Runanga o Ngai Takoto, Mr Marsden, now living in Whangarei but commuting daily to Kaitaia, led the iwi to settlement in 2012, but said he had merely "picked up where others left off". They included his father, the late Rev Maori Marsden.

His background includes 22 years in social work and CYF, with roles from the front line to management in Auckland, Whangarei, Kaipara, Kaikohe and Kaitaia.

Mr Marsden said his passion for community development had driven his approach to the settlement of Treaty claims.

"Faced with the loss of land, and the loss of our ability of grow economically and socially, the question was, how do we get back our ability to take responsibility and advance ourselves?" he said. Over the last 28 years Ngai Takoto had progressed from owning a piece of chalk and a blackboard to owning returned land and interests in fishing and forestry, as well as offering scholarships, wananga and tribal festivals.

"We've come along way from nothing. Now we have the ability to make a difference in the lives of people at a grassroots level," he said.

Mr Marsden suspected his honour may also have been recognition of the tribe's courage for "playing hardball with the Crown", and pushing hard for the best possible outcome. By the time the settlement was signed in 2012 the two parties had gained mutual respect and understanding.

With the iwi now into the 17th year of its 20-year plan, he intended to stay on for three more years, his aims including setting up a post-settlement governance entity, drafting economic, social and environmental policies, and devising a succession plan for the younger generation.

Mr Marsden is also a member of Te Hiku Forum, a pan-iwi body for collective negotiations, and played a key role in the previous Far North District Council's push for a unitary authority with dedicated Maori seats.