Wairarapa Maori who had their land taken off them by the Crown – twice; say a Supreme Court judgement released today clears the way for the Waitangi Tribunal to make a final determination on whether some of that land should be returned.

Wairarapa Moana represents Maori given land in the central North Island (Pouakani) in place of reserves the Crown failed to set aside after it took their land in South Wairarapa. The Crown then took some of the most valuable parts of the Pouakani land to build the Maraetai hydro power station, belatedly paying compensation that the Waitangi Tribunal described as “niggardly in the extreme”.

Wairarapa Moana has been seeking the direct return of the Pouakani land via the Wai85 treaty claim through what is known as a resumption order (a binding recommendation power the Waitangi Tribunal can exercise over former SOE lands).

The Supreme Court has confirmed that the Waitangi Tribunal can make a resumptive order in relation to the Pouakani and ‘must’ continue with the process to consider this.

The Crown has been moving to extinguish the ability of Wairarapa Moana to pursue the return of the land through the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua claims Settlement Bill, despite the opposition of Wairarapa Moana and the Waitangi Tribunal ruling that it has no mandate to do so.

Wairarapa Moana Chair Kingi Smiler said: “Again, we implore the Minister for Treaty Negotiations and the wider Parliament to remove our Wai 85 claim from the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua claims Settlement Bill and allow these issues to be dealt with separately.

This Bill is set down for its Third Reading next week. If passed this legislation will prevent the Waitangi Tribunal from even considering a resumption order. “That’s a denial of due process and natural justice. It denies us our right to a finally get a real remedy for our claims”.

Mr Smiler said the rest of the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki Nui-ā-Rua settlement should proceed next week, but without Wai 85 - the position it has put to both the Minister and the Select Committee.

“We have never wanted to hold up the other claims in this Bill from being settled. That would be unfair on the other claimants. It would be equally unfair for the issues in our claims, highlighted by the Waitangi Tribunal and now the Supreme Court to be obliterated by that settlement legislation,” he said.

Mr Smiler said they said they would meet to discuss the Supreme Court judgement with Pouakani Trust, which represents the various hapu and iwi with links to the Pouakani Lands.

Pouakani kaumatua Tamati Cairns said the trust supported the Wai 85 claim being removed from the wider settlement and support the resumption application. “Over decades we have built strong relationships with the Ngati Kahungunu people who the Crown literally dropped on us. We support each other on important kaupapa,” Mr Cairns said.

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