February 18, 2019
Factions jostle over Paoa Hauraki signing
Ngāti Paoa negotiators may have to justify in court their decision to sign the Hauraki Collective deed of settlement.
Negotiator Morehu Wilson and former negotiator Hau Rawiri signed the deed at a ceremony at Auckland’s Karaka Bay on Friday, saying it was time to get the settlement moving again.
It means six of the 12 Hauraki iwi have now put pen to paper.
Ngāti Paoa Iwi Trust tried to get an injunction, but the deed was signed by the time its lawyers got before the judge.
They asked for a declaration that the Minister of Treaty Negotiations should not take any steps in relation to the next stages of the settlement, and Crown Law advised the crown did not propose to act on the deed until all other iwi had signed it.
Justice Collins indicated he would hold a hearing as soon as possible of whether a declaration should be issued.
The iwi trust will need to demonstrate it has standing, as it is the post-governance settlement entity for Ngāti Paoa’s historical claim but not for the Hauraki Collective Settlement.
The collective settlement includes cultural redress, placing representatives on co-governance bodies, and allows the 12 iwi to buy Hauraki forests and some commercial property.
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