Te Pānuitanga Tuatoru o te Pire mō te Whakataunga Kokoraho a Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua | Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua Claims Settlement Bill Third Reading

He mea pōhiri a Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara i tēnei rā ki te mātakitaki, ki te whakarongo hoki i te putanga o te ihu o te tuatoru me te whakamutunga o ngā pānuitanga o te Whakataunga Kokoraho a Ngāti Kahunugnu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua.

He hapū whai hononga a Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua nō roto mai o ngā rohe o Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua me Te Wairarapa, ā, kei tōna 12,000 te nui o ōna mema i te rēhita.

"He rā whakahirahira tēnei ki a Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua me te Karauna i te ekenga o tēnei pae i muri i ngā tau maha o te ngākau ū," te kī a te Minita mō ngā Take Tiriti o Waitangi, a Andrew Little.

"Kāore te tukanga whakataunga i māmā nā te noho o ngā take ā-ture hei mātāmua i roto i ēnei tau tata. He tata tonu ki te katoa, te nui o ngā whakataunga Tiriti e puta ai he whakahē e pā ana ki te huarahi pai katoa e tau ai ngā kokoraho i roto i te rōpū whakatau, i waenga hoki i taua rōpū whakatau me ō rātou kiritata – me uaua ka papatahi te huarahi atu ki te whakataunga, ka mutu, me whakataurite tahi te hiahia kia tino tau ia tohenga, ki te whakaroatanga atu anō kia puretumutia ngā whakataunga Tiriti kua roa e whāia ana," te kī a Andrew Little.

"I tēnei rā, kua whakaūngia te roa o te hononga o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua ki ngā whenua me ngā taonga i ō rātou rohe, ā, ko taku tūmanako, kua takoto hoki tētahi tūāpapa hei painga mō ngā whakatipuranga ā haere ake nei," te kī a Andrew Little.

Ka whai wāhi atu ki ngā nawe nō mua o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua ki te Karauna ko tā te Karauna āki kia riro atu ngā eka e hia tekau mano o te whenua o Maungaroa i te tau 1845, me te korenga o tana mahi i runga i te ngākau pai i te tere me te whānui o ngā hokotanga whenua i te roanga o te tekau tau 1850, o ngā tangohanga whenua mō ngā mahi tūmātanui i muri iho. Kāore hoki te Karauna i ū ki tāna whakawātea i ētahi whenua rāhui i oatitia ai e ia i te wā i tukuna rā te moana o Wairarapa hei koha.

Ka whai wāhi atu ki te whakataunga ko te whakaae, ko te whakapāha hoki a te Karauna mō ana takahanga nō mua i te Tiriti o Waitangi, ko te puretumu ā-pūtea, ā-arumoni hoki kei te $115 miriona te uara, ko te wātea hoki o te iwi ki te hoko i ngā rawa wāhi o te Karauna, tae atu hoki ki te nuinga o ngā whenua whai raihana o Ngāumu Forest Crown Forest me ngā wāhi arumoni e 28.

Mā te whakataunga hoki e whakaūngia anō ai te mana o ngā wāhi e 27 e tāpua ana ā-ahurea, ā, e 30 ngā ingoa o ngā wāhi ka panonitia hei whakanui i ngā hononga o te iwi ki ngā rawa wāhi i ō rātou rohe, ka mutu, ka whakaritea he kawenata i te taha o ētahi pokapū kia whakaritea he rautaki whakapiki ake i te oranga ā-pāpori, ā-ahurea, ā-ōhanga hoki o te hapori kokoraho o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua.

"Ko te rā nei hei tohu mō tētahi ao hou ka wātea ki te hapori kokoraho o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua, otiia, ki te hunga kei te pū o tēnei Pire, ka mutu, e whakaaro nuitia ana tā rātou whakatau kia anga whakamua tā rātou whakataunga. E mōhiotia ana, e whakaaetia ana e te Karauna ō te iwi nawe, ā, ahakoa kāore e āta ea i te whakataunga ngā mahi i mahia ai e te Karauna me ngā mahi i tīpokaina e ia, e tūmanako ana au mā te whakataunga nei e wātea ai a Ngāti Kahungunu ki te aro ki ō rātou wawata ki ngā rā kei mua i te aroaro" te kī a Andrew Little.

KUA MUTU

He kupu tīpoka mā te Ringa Takatā

• E wātea ana tētahi tāruatanga o te Pire i konei
• I waitohua e Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua me te Karauna tētahi Whakaaetanga ā-Tuhi mō te Whakataunga i te 29 o Oketopa 2021, ā, e wātea ana i konei.
• Ka whakawhiwhia hoki a Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa o Tāmaki nui-a-Rua ki te puretumu ā-ahurea mā te Pire mō te Puretumu Ngātahi mō Te Rohe o Rongokako, i te taha hoki o Rangitāne o Wairarapa me Rangitāne o Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua.

Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua Claims Settlement Bill Third Reading

Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua were welcomed to Wellington today to witness the passing of the third and final reading of the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua Claims Settlement Bill.

Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua are a group of interconnected hapū from the Dannevirke and Wairarapa regions and have approximately 12,000 registered members.

“This is an important day for Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua and the Crown in reaching this milestone after many years of dedication,” Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little said.

“The settlement process has not been easy, with litigation taking front and centre in recent years. In almost every Treaty settlement there is disagreement about the best way to settle claims both within the settling group, and between the settling group and their neighbours – the path to settlement is rarely smooth and the desire to fully resolve every dispute must be balanced against further delays to long sought Treaty settlement redress,” Andrew Little said

“Today we have recognised Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua’s long-standing association with the whenua and taonga within their rohe and have provided a foundation that I hope will benefit the generations to come,” Andrew Little said.

The historical grievances of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua against the Crown include the forced cession of tens of thousands of acres of land at Maungaroa in 1845 as well as the failure to act in good faith during rapid and extensive land purchases throughout the 1850s and in later public works takings. The Crown also failed to honour the gifting of Wairarapa Moana with the promised reserves.

The settlement includes an acknowledgement of, and an apology for, the Crown’s historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi alongside financial and commercial redress valued at $115 million with the opportunity to purchase Crown properties, including most of the Ngāumu Forest Crown Forest licenced land and 28 commercial sites. 

The settlement also provides for the vesting of 27 sites of cultural significance and 30 place name changes to acknowledge iwi association with sites in their rohe, and a cross-agency covenant to develop a strategy to enhance the social, cultural, and economic wellbeing of the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua claimant community.

“Today marks a new chapter for the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua claimant community, the people who are at the centre of this Bill, and respects their decision to move forward with their settlement. Their grievances are being recognised and acknowledged by the Crown and while no settlement can ever truly atone for the past actions and omissions of the Crown, I hope this settlement can allow Ngāti Kahungunu to focus on their aspirations for the future” Andrew Little said.

ENDS

Notes for Editor:

• A copy of the Bill is available here.
• Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua and the Crown signed a Deed of Settlement on 29 October 2021, which is available here.
• Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa o Tāmaki nui-a-Rua will also receive cultural redress through Te Rohe o Rongokako Joint Redress Bill alongside Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Rangitāne o Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua. The Joint Redress Bill is available here.