13 December 2023
Rt Hon Christopher Luxon Prime Minister Freepost Parliament Private Bag 18888 Parliament Buildings WELLINGTON 6160
Tēnā koe December 13, 2023 – today is the first anniversary of a date that will be enshrined in the history of Wairarapa Moana Incorporation. One year ago today, members of the 53rd New Zealand Parliament at the third reading of the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Claims Settlement Bill voted to pass it into legislation. This legislation extinguished aspects of our Wai 85 Te Tiriti of Waitangi claim and halted our resumption application for the return of lands at Pouākani before the Waitangi Tribunal. The Supreme Court of New Zealand had only the week before, ruled that Wairarapa Moana Incorporation was eligible for the return of lands and that the matter should be returned to the Waitangi Tribunal for a decision. Without awaiting the outcome of these legal proceedings, Parliament enacted the settlement legislation, and blocked the Waitangi Tribunal from returning our land. On the 12 December 2022, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a memorandum – directions observing: “…if the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Claims Settlement Bill were not passed into law tomorrow, the Tribunal would pursue the path outlined for it in Wairarapa Moana ki Pouākani v Mercury NZ Ltd [2022] NZSC 142. This might have the effect of returning significant hydro assets to the Wairarapa Moana ki Pouākani Incorporation or another appropriate entity. It might also have resolved longstanding raru between tangata whenua at Pouākani and Wairarapa Māori through a tikanga process that was allowed to run its course. However, the government has decided to extinguish those possibilities by passage of law tomorrow.”
Wairarapa Moana Incorporation regard the actions of the 53rd New Zealand Parliament to be an egregious act, a breach of te Tiriti o Waitangi, the New Zealand Bill of Rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Members of the 53rd Parliament created a grievance which will transcend generations. Today we remember and we grieve as a people. We will continue the fight – and on this 1st anniversary – we call on all members of the 54th New Zealand Parliament to do the right thing – return our lands.
Nāku noa, nā
Kingi Smiler Chair Wairarapa Moana Incorporation