February 10, 2023
No clear win in Tāmaki tikanga battle
Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei is claiming victory in its court case over mana whenua in central Auckland, despite failing to get the declarations it sought.
Justice Matthew Palmer last week confirmed the preliminary judgment he made in April last year, after giving the parties time to comment on what the declarations should say.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei had objected to the Crown offer of small parcels of land in Parnell and Mount Eden to Hauraki tribes as part of their settlements.
It also claimed the Crown’s failure to include tikanga in the so-called Red Book which guides how negotiations are conducted was unlawful.
Justice Palmer says while the advice contained in the Red Book is incomplete in not explicitly acknowledging the legal requirement on the Crown to consider tikanga, it was not unlawful, and it’s being updated.
He made a declaration Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei have ahi kā and mana whenua in central Tāmaki Makaurau, with all the obligations and tikanga that go with that, according to the tikanga and historical tribal narrative and tradition of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
At the same time, the position of Marutūāhu rōpū, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, and Te Ākitai Waiohua must also be respected – that they don’t recognise that Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei ahi kā and mana whenua over that area, as those concepts are conceived of by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
The case will not affect the Marutūāhu settlement, which the Crown is now moving to complete.
Justice Palmer says all parties have had some measure of success in a ground-breaking case with a public interest element, so he intends to let costs lie where they fall – a clear indication there were no winners in the drawn out process.