|
WORLD: New Treaty deal for Auckland on the table
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
9:33:06 AM
By Maggie Tait
NEW ZEALAND, February 3, 2010: Public access to Auckland's volcanic cones will be retained under a new Treaty deal offered to Maori, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Chris Finlayson says.
Mr Finlayson confirmed this morning a report in The New Zealand Herald that the cones were part of a Treaty offer.
"An offer has been put to a group called the Tamaki collective (representing Auckland iwi) about the volcanic cones and of course public access is not an issue. It involves the transfer of ownership of the cones to the iwi."
A statutory board with equal membership from the Auckland Council and Tamaki collective, with the council retaining financial control, would be set up.
"Public access is exactly the same, there might be a few sign changes," he said.
"Its really part of the deal that the mountains mean so much to them from a cultural perspective so it's part of the cultural redress that we are offering."
He compared it to Bastion Point.
Similar to other recent settlement offers, iwi would have right of first refusal to buy Crown land in the Auckland area that is offered sale during the next 170 years.
"That tends to be part of a component of any settlement, there will always be what we call an RFR component."
There would be no cash settlement. The deal was aimed to solve the ongoing problem of shared and overlapping interests.
Iwi involved include various Ngati Whatua groups, Te Kawarau a Maki, Ngai Tai ki Tamaki, Ngati Te Ata, Te Aki Tai, Ngati Tamaoho and Hauraki/Marutuahu iwi. Provision had also been made for other Tamaki Makaurau iwi who have recognised interests to join in the future.
In 2006 the then Labour government proposed a settlement that was only put to Ngati Whatua o Orakei.
The following year the Waitangi Tribunal found that the Crown's decision to give priority to the tribe over other iwi was too "flawed" to go ahead, leaving Ngati Whatua and all other iwi with interests in Tamaki Makaurau in limbo.
On coming into Government Mr Finlayson asked Sir Douglas Graham to look at the possibility of an Auckland-wide resolution and the offer was put together.
"A lot of work has gone into a good resolution of issues in the Tamaki area and I am hopeful we will be able to get good settlements," Mr Finlayson said.
If the offer was accepted a document would be drawn up, details negotiated, then a deed a settlement is prepared and legislation drafted to give it effect.
Tribes' individual issues, which aren't impacted by the agreement, would be dealt with by separate settlements.
"I will continue to sign those up over the coming months... we've set ourselves an ambitious program." - NZPA
|