Media Release 11 September 2014

Treaty Claims co-chair acknowledges past Ngātiwai leadership as submissions period closes

Ngātiwai Treaty Claims Committee co-chair Kris MacDonald says it is time to acknowledge the efforts of the Iwi leadership in the past after the submissions period for the Deed of Mandate (DoM) closed last Saturday, 6 September.

The Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS) granted the extension period at the request of the Ngātiwai Trust Board (NTB), a move which took the submission period to at total of eight weeks.

Mr. MacDonald says as Ngātiwai goes through the Treaty settlements process it is important to recognise the mahi of its past leadership in bringing it to the current point.

“This is a continuation of the process which started when Ngātiwai Rangatira Te Witi McMath lodged the first Treaty of Waitangi claim which has since seen the settlement of fisheries assets. I acknowledge his work and the efforts of our past leaders like, Waipu Pita, Kahutai Rapata, Pat Hoskings Laly Haddon, Hori Parata, , Howe Reti, Whetu McGregor and Himiona Munroe, and many others” he says.

“I also want to mention the sacrifices that their families made to ensure Ngātiwai was well placed to arrive at this point where today we are having submissions being made on our Deed of Mandate.”

Mr. MacDonald says co-chairing the Treaty Claims committee and working on the Deed of Mandate had required a concentrated effort which he is confident will prove to be rewarding for Ngātiwai in the long term.

“We have spent an intensive focused period of work and engagement with our people to seek their mandate and we were pleasantly surprised by the level of support we have received from our people,” Mr. MacDonald says.

The Ngātiwai Trust Board’s mandate proposal received 82% of the vote in favour of by-passing the Waitangi Tribunal and dealing directly with the Crown to secure a settlement offer.

“We do have to recognise that not everyone is supportive of the Trust Board proposal but despite that we are working hard to try getting them onboard with us,” he says.

“What we want to say to them is that our doors are open and will remain open, and we welcome the participation of all our members as we got through this process.”

He adds that Ngātiwai Trust Board has taken steps to better engage with its Ngātiwai membership.

“We are committed to communicating better with our members over the coming years and we look forward to holding regular Hui and providing regular progress reports on negotiations,” Mr. MacDonald says

“When all the work is done we will be bringing a Crown offer back to the people consider and We will have to traverse some tricky constitutional issues as we develop a proposal for a new entity to receive any settlement assets we secure.

“Our approach to this will be to have plenty of informed debate as we have set up a great team of technical advisors to help with this process.”

For More Information:

Ngātiwai Treaty Claims co-chair – Kris MacDonald 0278398527 or 021678929

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