Maharey wants to start treaty clock ticking

By RUTH BERRY, political reporter

A senior Government minister has floated another potential policy u-turn: imposing a time limit on the settlement of historical Waitangi Treaty claims.

The prospect of yet another change on the Maori policy front has been raised by Social Services Minister Steve Maharey in an opinion piece published in today's Herald.

"It is perhaps time to set a date when all grievances must be settled so we can all move on," he says.

It flies in the face of repeated rejections of Opposition calls for the imposition of a time limit by Treaty Negotiations Minister Margaret Wilson.

Little more than a week ago Ms Wilson said it would be impossible to set a final date for settling claims without the possibility of creating a new set of grievances.

"I know some members of the public are concerned at the time this process takes, and so am I, but I note the experience of the previous Government when it tried to hasten the conclusion of the process through the fiscal envelope proposal. It was unsuccessful and probably delayed the whole process," Ms Wilson said then.

Earlier this month the Office of the Treaty Settlements director, Andrew Hampton, told a parliamentary committee the historical Treaty claims settlement process was halfway through and would take another 10 to 15 years.

A number of outstanding issues, including how many groups would finally agree to enter joint negotiations, made it difficult to forecast exactly how long the process would take, he said.

Mr Maharey's settlement comments and others on "diversity" are likely to further rattle both the Government's Maori MPs and other traditional supporters, already reeling from "reviews" they fear could result in retrograde steps for Maori.

As one of the most senior left-leaning members of the Labour caucus, his repositioning appears significant.

"Throughout my academic and political career I have been a strong and consistent advocate of accepting and celebrating diversity and promoted public policy that reflects this trend," he wrote in the article.

"But now I realise that there is a limit to how far diversity can go."

Labour needed to "take stock of its support for diversity". Arriving at a "new point of balance" was a matter of some urgency, he said.

Mr Maharey told the Herald later his views were personal and the time line proposal had not been discussed at Cabinet.

"I think Maori are saying to us [on settlements] they are pretty well ready to go."

He was "not waving a banner for major shifts in policy" with his rethinking on diversity but trying to understand why the issue concerned the public.

The National Urban Maori Authorities will hold a hui at Hoani Waititi Marae in Auckland on Saturday to determine how to respond to the Government.

The group's chairman, Willie Jackson, said Associate Maori Affairs Minister John Tamihere had been asked to explain the Government's position.

Fellow Associate Maori Affairs Tariana Turia and National's Georgina te Heuheu had also been invited.

Mr Jackson said strategies for countering a Government retreat and calming volatile Maori would be explored. "We are worried about how some of our people might react. It has reached the point where something bad could happen."

A Maori party would be discussed, as would proposals such as a nationwide affirmative "Maori Day", he said.