Māori Affairs Select Committee Hears Submissions on the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Claims Settlement Bill Tēnā koe The Ngàti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tàmaki nui-à-Rua Claims Settlement Bill had its first reading in Parliament on 11 May 2022. The Bill has been referred to the Màori Affairs Select Committee, and the committee is inviting submissions on the Bill by 22 June 2022. This Bill, if passed by Parliament, will settle Wairarapa Moana Incorporation owners’ Wai 85 claim, against the wishes of the majority of owners. The Waitangi Tribunal in its 2021 report made a number of very clear findings and strong recommendations which the Crown and the majority of the Ngàti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tàmaki nui-à-Rua Settlement trustees have chosen to ignore: • The Waitangi Tribunal found that the Ngàti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tàmaki nui-à-Rua Settlement Trust had no mandate to enter into settlement with the Crown concerning the interests of Ngài Tùmapùhia-à-Rangi in Ngàumu Forest (Wai 429) and the Wairarapa Moana ki Pouàkani Incorporation in relation to the land at Pouàkani (Wai 85). • The ratification process undertaken by the Ngàti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tàmaki nuià-Rua Settlement Trust was poor and there were too few votes in support of the settlement for the Crown to consider the settlement had sufficient support.
The Committee of Management understands that the settlement process for Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tàmaki nui-à-Rua has taken considerable time. It is not our intention to hold up the settlement process. We have asked the Crown to remove Wai 85 from settlement legislation. This would allow settlement to proceed and for Wairarapa Moana owners to exercise our rangatiratanga and pursue settlement of Wai 85 on our own terms. The Committee of Management asks that you make a submission to the Màori Affairs Select Committee indicating your opposition to the settlement of the Wai 85 claim through the Ngàti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tàmaki nui-à-Rua Claims Settlement Bill, and seeking its removal from the Bill. Attached is a suggested submission template, to assist you with this process. If you need any assistance with making a submission, please call the Masterton office on 0800 662 624 or send us an email at info@wairarapamoana.org.nz
Nàku noa, nà Kingi Winiata Smiler Chairman, Wairarapa Moana Incorporation 17 May 2022
Template Submission on Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Claims Settlement Bill Before making your submission on the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Claims Settlement Bill, we recommend you watch the video on the Parliamentary website, on How to Make a Submission. Here is a link. We have included a submission template on the next page to guide you on the format. When completed you can submit your submission via the Parliamentary website, email it to the Māori Affairs Committee or post it to the Māori Affairs Committee at Parliament – no stamp required. If you have any questions or need assistance, please call the Wairarapa Moana Office on 0800 662624 or email us at: info@wairarapamoana.org.nz Ngā mihi
[Insert date] Committee Secretariat Māori Affairs Committee Parliament Buildings Wellington By Email: ma@parliament.govt.nz Tēnā koe Submission to the Māori Affairs Committee on the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-āRua Claims Settlement Bill 1.
[Include a short piece about your whakapapa and whānau connection to the original owners of Wairarapa Moana, and/or association with Wairarapa Moana and Ōnoke, and /or to the lands at Pouākani and Mangakino. If possible, explain to the Committee your personal experience of the process, the length of your involvement, and why settlement of the Wai 85 claim by Wairarapa Moana Incorporation owners is important to you and your whānau].
Wai 85 2.
I / Our whānau oppose the inclusion of Wai 85 in the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nuiā-Rua Claims Settlement Bill.
3.
Wairarapa Moana Incorporation owners mandated the Committee of Management to settle Wai 85 of our behalf. This mandate was confirmed by shareholder resolutions at Annual General Meetings in 2010, 2011, 2016, and at a Special General Meeting in 2018.
4.
The Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Settlement Trust (Settlement Trust) has never been mandated to settle Te Tiriti breaches relating to Wai 85 and the Pouākani lands.
5.
The Waitangi Tribunal in their November 2021 report confirmed this view. They found that the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Settlement Trust had no mandate to enter into settlement with the Crown concerning the interests of Ngāi Tūmapūhia-ā-Rangi in Ngāumu Forest (Wai 429) and the Wairarapa Moana ki Pouākani Incorporation in relation to the land at Pouākani (Wai 85).
6.
I/We therefore request the Māori Affairs Committee remove Wai 429 and Wai 85 from the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā- Rua Claims Settlement Bill.
Request to make an Oral Submission 7.
I/We wish to speak to the Māori Affairs Committee on this submission. [Delete this section if you do not wish to appear before the Māori Affairs Committee.]
Nāku noa, nā
Ingoa / Name