KEY POINTS:
As a Pakeha with something of an attachment to the volcanic landscape of my adopted home town, I'm rather encouraged by the Waitangi Tribunal's decision that no single tribal grouping should be awarded "exclusive" or "predominant" interest in Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill), Maungawhau (Mt Eden) and Puketepapa (Mt Roskill.)
There are multiple interests in these three maunga, says Judge Carrie Wainwright, and the Crown's agreement in principle to grant Ngati Whatua o Orakei exclusive interest to them was wrong.
Judge Wainwright's comments are part of a comprehensive rubbishing the tribunal directs at the one-sided processes used, and the conclusions reached, in the Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiations between the Orakei-based tribe and the Government.
Coming as it does on the eve of the Crown seeking Unesco World Heritage status for the whole field of Auckland volcanic cones, the tribunal's decision does highlight that these unique volcanoes don't belong to any one person or tribe, they belong to the world.
Judge Wainwright doesn't go quite that far, but she is blunt in her belief that the three cones certainly don't belong to Ngati Whatua alone.
"This is a consequence of the intensive occupation of Tamaki Makaurau [isthmus Auckland] by Maori over the centuries and the different groups' fluctuating levels of influence and activity in different places over that time. In situations like this, we believe that the grant of redress should take into account and reflect the multi-layered nature of these multiple interests."
She said Treaty claims can only date from 1840 when the pact between Maori and the Crown was signed, but "Maori history did not begin then ... and in dealing with cultural redress the Crown must confront the reality of layers of interests accreting over centuries. Even if Ngati Whatua o Orakei's interests were predominant in 1840, this is not a basis for the award to them of exclusive interests in cultural sites."
The tribunal says "this sets one group above the others and against the others, as regards the mana and wairua inherent in the maunga, and this is quite simply a bad thing to do. It causes destructive feelings of envy and resentment . . ".
Judge Wainwright wants the Crown and Ngati Whatua to sit down with other claimants, until now sidelined by the process, and come to a fairer solution.
At the risk of sounding simple-minded, would it be unjust to also seek a seat for Ngati Pakeha at this table? If, as the judge argues, history did not begin at 1840, neither did it end there. Saving and preserving these icons is not going to happen without the money and passion of the dominant Ngati Pakeha.
A letter writer in yesterday's Herald said I had insulted the mana of his Ngati Whatua leaders by criticising the way the tribe had refused to take part in the World Heritage announcement. The tribe was affronted by being "accorded no status in the formalities", so pulled out of the meeting. He added that his leaders "are working with quiet dignity to honour the mana of Auckland's volcanic cones, and to ensure their sacred, cultural, historical, aesthetic and amenity values are maintained for all who visit them".
Well, so are a lot of other people, and they're rather more interested in saving the mountains than in the seating order at a press conference.
As for working to honour the mana of Auckland's volcanic cones, no one's perfect. I'm still waiting for Ngati Whatua o Orakei to explain how their leasing of the Orakei Basin crater tuff ring to apartment developers to hack and destroy, is honouring the cones. According to the Geological Society of New Zealand, this basin is "one of Auckland's more iconic volcanoes, arguably the city's best-preserved example of a tuff cone with a wide, water-filled crater".
This land is also the site of a major historic Ngati Whatua pa, described by archaeologist Simon Best, in 2002 as "in a category of heritage importance second only to the volcanic cones".
When it comes to guarding these icons, no one group can claim to be holier than thou. As Judge Wainwright argues, "ownership" of these maunga, is multi-layered. She's told the Crown and Ngati Whatua to come up with a formula that reflects that. If everyone involved puts the mountains first, maybe they will.
