Paul Majurey: A decade since Tāmaki Makarau iwi settled on a way forward

The Tāmaki Makaurau maunga are being transformed to preserve and enhance their ecological, historical, and archaeological significance. Photo / Dean Purcell

Opinion

OPINION:

Ten years ago today, the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau collective settlement deed was signed by the 13 iwi of Auckland in an historic milestone.

Despite a background of inter-iwi disputes (some unresolved), all the tribes agreed to co-own and co-govern Auckland's treasured Tūpuna Maunga, implement arrangements for significant motu of Tīkapa Moana and run the valuable right-of-first refusal regime over surplus Crown land for 172 years.

Much has already been achieved in a decade.

The Maunga - volcanic cones - are being transformed following 150 years of exploitation and neglect. This has not been without discomfort for some. It ranges from removing heavy livestock scarring the maunga, limiting vehicle access for quieter and safer spaces, to native revegetation programmes to restore the original biodiversity and landscapes.

Change attracts opponents.

Few though would dispute our vision - transforming these iconic cultural landscapes to preserve and enhance their ecological, historical and archaeological significance. A bold future goal is World Heritage status.

With the collective's rights over surplus Crown land, important partnerships between mana whenua, the Crown and private sector are transforming housing across Tāmaki Makaurau.

We are achieving as much for affordable housing as others. We were integral to the Waimahia development at Weymouth that built 295 affordable houses, all architecturally designed, double-glazed, and with 5-star energy rating for a community including 48 per cent Māori and 18 per cent Pasifika and around 80 per cent under 25 years of age. Around 30 per cent were sold via a shared equity scheme, and 20 per cent as rent-to-buy, with others remaining as affordable rentals administered by community housing providers.

The collective iwi are also making their mark. Te Ākitai Waiohua, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Tamaoho, Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Ngāti Whātua Kaipara and the five iwi of Marutūāhu are all active in providing homes. And, Te Ākitai and Marutūāhu recently received Property Council awards for their multi-unit residential Kōtuitui (in Manukau) and Kōkihi (in Waterview) projects, respectively.

Significantly, the collective groupings of Marutūāhu, Te Waiōhua and Ngāti Whātua are leading mixed-use projects that will over time establish over 4000 new homes on the surplus Unitec land in Mt Albert.

It remains notable that the collective settlement was ever achieved.

The 13 iwi are fiercely protective of their independence and have intense overlapping/competing interests that cannot be reconciled into one simple, convenient narrative. Some iwi even deny that other iwi should have a voice on Auckland issues.

But, the collective settlement was underpinned by a ground-breaking Waitangi Tribunal report which involved the iwi of Te Waiōhua, Ngāti Whātua and Marutūāhu, and which concluded that settlements in Tāmaki must accommodate the interests of all the tribes.

At the 10-year mark, it's clear that while iwi whanaungatanga was crucial to settlement. Crown leadership also made a difference.

The deed signing and settlement bill were chaperoned through Parliament by then-Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson, who was known for his no-nonsense and speedy approach to the difficult challenge of settling claims.

Paul Majurey. Photo / Supplied

Treaty negotiations ministers need to be bold and committed to maintaining fair progress in the face of sometimes staunch protest. National's Sir Doug Graham showed courage and ability when he set the blueprint with the historic settlements for Waikato-Tainui and Ngāi Tahu, also the subject of inter-tribal challenges, which are now approaching their thirtieth birthdays (with burgeoning cultural strength and billion-dollar balance sheets).

His successors – Labour's Dame Margaret Wilson and Mark Burton - were less successful, but a late charge by Sir Michael Cullen set the ball rolling for Chris Finlayson who showed he was cut from the Graham/Cullen cloth. In his six years, 38 settlements were shepherded through Parliament to become settlement Acts, and in 2014 alone there were 14 settlements that passed through to final completion.

In five years in government, Andrew Little has brought 11 settlements to conclusion.

The collective deed milestone also throws into sharp relief the widening gap between those settled iwi and those who still wait. My own Pare Hauraki Collective redress deed was signed in August 2018. The signing came after a thorough process – like the Tāmaki Collective settlement – which involved Waitangi Tribunal processes, complex negotiations and agreements over redress with a range of iwi.

Yet, years after signing, with many of our old people and negotiators having passed, our deed still languishes outside Parliament.

As we look at what has been achieved by Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau in 10 years, it is obvious that completing settlements matters.

As oft noted, when the Crown recognises its historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, it creates a foundation for both iwi and the Crown to move forward together. It is easy to lose sight of that when iwi disputes seem intractable; when it seems easier to do little rather than show leadership and settle.

Yet, not a single Treaty settlement would ever have been signed if those former National and Labour ministers had frozen in the headlights and not called time on excuses and
dissent.

In these 10 years, the legacy is the mountain, not the protest.

• Paul Majurey (Marutūāhu) is an iwi leader, independent director and lawyer, and chairs the Tūpuna Maunga Authority.