Te Uri o Hau Deed of Settlement Summary

An account of the historical background agreed between the Crown and Te Uri o Hau is included in the Deed of Settlement. A summary of this is included in the attached material. Te Uri o Hau’s historical claims relate in general terms to breaches by the Crown of its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi in relation to land purchases prior to 1840, Crown land purchases, the operation and impact of the Native Land Court, and land administration structures and practices in the 20th century.

Negotiations on a settlement package with Te Uri o Hau began in August 1999. A Heads of Agreement recording agreement on the main components of a settlement was signed on 20 November 1999. A Deed of Settlement - the formal Crown offer to Te Uri o Hau to settle historical claims under the Treaty of Waitangi - was then developed by the Crown and Te Uri o Hau negotiators. The Deed was initialled on September 12, 2000 and was subsequently ratified by the members of Te Uri o Hau through a postal ballot. The Deed signed today is now subject only to the formal approval of Parliament.

Te Uri o Hau was represented in negotiations by its mandated negotiators Sir Graham Latimer, Morehu Kena, Jimmy Connelly, Harry Pomare, Russell Kemp, Rawson Wright and Tapihana Shelford (Minister). The negotiators built on the substantial groundwork undertaken by claim managers and Dr David V Williams.

The Office of Treaty Settlements headed by Ross Philipson, with the support of Treasury, Ministry of Fisheries and the Department of Conservation, represented the Crown in day to day negotiations.

The Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Hon Margaret Wilson represented the Crown in high level negotiations with Te Uri o Hau.

Crown Policy – Crown Purchases and Native Land Laws

The Crown has accepted that it had a duty under the Treaty of Waitangi to

• act in the utmost good faith toward Māori
• ensure Māori retained sufficient land for sustenance and growth,
• ensure European settlement occurred in an orderly fashion,

And, that the alienation of Māori land and the operation and impact of the native land laws had a number of consequences, including

• a significant loss of land by some Māori communities, with some becoming virtually landless,
• the removal of a key resource, contributing to a breakdown of Māori communities and hindering their effective participation in society,
• community dispersal, resulting from the fragmentation of land ownership.

Te Uri o Hau’s Claims

The specific claims made by Te Uri o Hau include concern at the actions of the Crown in reviewing land purchases prior to 1840, Crown purchases prior to 1865, the operations of the Native Land Court in the 19th century and land administration structures and practices in the 20th century.

In 1842 the Chiefs of Te Uri o Hau and Ngapuhi ceded to the Crown between 2,200 and 3000 hectares as punishment for Māori action against a storekeeper believed to have desecrated an urupa and removed human remains. No payment was made for the land.

Crown purchases between 1854 and 1865 saw 110,000 hectares alienated from Te Uri o Hau, around 60% of their total land holdings in the Otamatea and Pouto areas. Only three reserves were established following these purchases and, of those, two were alienated soon after.

Te Uri o Hau also believe the operation of the Native Land Court in Te Uri o Hau’s area of interest was prejudicial to Māori land owners wishing to retain their land. Reserves set aside following sales often included wahi tapu, but were inadequately protected from alienation in spite of their owners’ wishes. A Validation Court was employed in the area that sought to ‘validate’ incomplete dealings in Māori land in the 1890s. A disputed sale of 815 hectares was resolved in favour of purchasers and against the wishes of the people of Te Uri o Hau.

Taonga were also removed from wahi tapu in the Wairoa-Kaipara District and the Pouto Peninsula without permission.

In the 20th century Te Uri o Hau believe they were disadvantaged by land administration structures and practices that saw some Te Uri o Hau land owners retain few legal powers over their own property. Land development schemes in operation during the 20th century also saw further alienation and produced results that fell well below the landowners’ expectations.

Restoration of Te Uri o Hau access to traditional foods and food gathering areas, including

Customary Fisheries 

Te Uri o Hau will be appointed as an Advisory Committee to the Minister of Fisheries. This Committee will provide advice on the management of fisheries in the Te Uri o Hau area of interest, including the customary interest of Te Uri o Hau in those fisheries generally and the toheroa, shark, ray, flounder, snapper, kahawai and mullet fisheries in particular.

Other provisions include

• The Ministry of Fisheries will consult with Te Uri o Hau and safeguard Te Uri o Hau’s existing customary fishing rights, if the numbers of toheroa rise to levels that make a commercial catch possible.
• A Right of First Refusal to buy a proportion of surplus Crown quota for surf clams, tuatua, paddlecrab and toheroa in any quota management area covering Te Uri o Hau’s area of interest if these species become part of the quota management system.
• A commitment by the Crown to consult with Te Uri o Hau should they propose to include the Pouto Lakes eel fisheries within the application of the Fisheries (Kaimoana Customary Fishing) Regulations.
• A commitment to consider restrictions on certain eel fishing methods in the Pouto Lakes and applications to relocate elvers within waterways in Te Uri o Hau’s area of interest.
• An agreement by the Crown to make regulations to define the existing oyster reserves in parts of the Kaipara Harbour (established in 1913 as a reserve exclusive to Te Uri o Hau), and provide for a management structure nominated by Te Uri o Hau to manage customary food-gathering of oysters in the reserves.

Nohoanga

This is an area of up to one hectare of Crown-owned land near a waterway that gives access to traditional sources of food. Te Uri o Hau members will have the right to use this entitlement for noncommercial, lawful fishing and food gathering for up to 210 days a year.

Three nohoanga are being offered and will be located in the Pouto and Kahuparere Stewardship Areas.

Recognition of Te Uri o Hau’s traditional, historical, cultural and spiritual associations with places and sites owned by the Crown within their area of interest. This allows Te Uri o Hau and the Crown to protect and enhance the values associated with these areas and sites and includes:

Statutory Acknowledgements

These register the special association Te Uri o Hau has with an area of Crown-owned land and will be included in the settlement legislation. They are recognised under the Resource Management Act 1991 and the Historic Places Act 1993.

There are to be six such acknowledgements:

The Mangawhai Marginal Strip, the Oruawharo River Stewardship Area, the Pouto Stewardship Area, the Pukekararo Scenic Reserve, the Kaipara Harbour and the Mangawhai Harbour.

Deeds of Recognition

These oblige the Crown to consult Te Uri o Hau and have regard for their views regarding Te Uri o Hau’s special association with a site on Crown-owned land and specify the nature of Te Uri o Hau’s input into management of those areas by the Department of Conservation.

There will be four Deeds covering the Mangawhai Marginal Strip, the Oruawharo River Stewardship Area, the Pukekararo Scenic Reserve and the Pouto Stewardship Area.

Special Areas or Kirihipi

This is an additional status for some existing conservation areas that acknowledges Te Uri o Hau’s traditional, cultural, spiritual and historic values and associations.

Special Area status requires the Minister of Conservation and Te Uri o Hau to develop and publicise a set of principles which will assist the Minister to avoid harming or diminishing Te Uri o Hau’s values in each of the Special Areas.

The NZ Conservation Authority and the Northland Conservation Board will also be required to have regard to the principles and consult with Te Uri o Hau. It is the same concept as a Topuni in the Ngai Tahu settlement.

There are two such areas proposed for the Te Uri o Hau area of interest; the Tapora Government Purpose (Wildlife Management) Reserve and the Pouto Stewardship Area.

Protocols with Government Departments and Third Parties 

The Deed of Settlement establishes protocols to ensure good working relationships between Te Uri o Hau and the Ministry of Fisheries, the Ministry of Economic Development , the Department of Conservation and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage on cultural matters of importance to Te Uri o Hau.

The Crown has also agreed to encourage the development of memoranda of understanding between Te Uri o Hau and the Kaipara District Council, the Rodney District Council, the Northland Regional Council, and the Auckland Regional Council.

Placenames

A total of 5 existing place names will, in future, also have an official Māori name. These are: Whakapirau / Rocky Point, Lake Karoro/ Mathews, Pukepohatu/Bald Rock,Puroa/Boar Hill, Whakapaingarara/Tapu Bush.

In addition, Maungaturoto Scenic Reserve will be renamed the Pukeareinga Scenic Reserve, Pukearenga will be known as Pukeareinga, the name of Waikere Creek will be changed to Waikeri Creek, and the Tapora Government Purpose (Wildlife Management) Reserve will be known as Manukapua Wildlife Reserve.

Seven sites not currently named will receive official names.

Te Uri o Hau will also be notified by the New Zealand Geographic Board about future name proposals in their area of interest.

Sites Transferred to Te Uri o Hau 

Eleven areas of special significance to Te Uri o Hau on Crownowned land will be returned to them. A variety of arrangements are being entered into to ensure ongoing protection of values associated with these areas, where appropriate.

These include: an urupa which is currently part of the Pukekaroro Scenic Reserve, that part of the Whakahuranga Pa site in the Oruawharo River Stewardship Area, that part of the Humuhumu Lake Bed owned by the Crown, part of the Maungatoroto Scenic Reserve, an ancestral burial site in the Pouto North Stewardship Area, the Whakapirau Cliffs which are part of the Rocky Point Marginal Strip, the Horokako Stewardship Area, 0.6 hectares at the Pouto Road End, wahi tapu sites in the Pouto Forest, a pa site on an Historic Reserve in Dargaville and a site in the Okahukura Stewardship Area. A total of approximately 30 hectares is involved.

Te Uri o Hau and the Kaipara District Council will also form a joint administering body to manage an Historic Reserve in Dargaville that is owned by the Crown. The Reserve is the site of the pa of Te Uri o Hau’s eponymous ancestor, Haumoewaarangi. 

This redress recognises the economic loss suffered by Te Uri o Hau arising from breaches by the Crown of its Treaty obligations. It is aimed at providing Te Uri o Hau with resources to assist it to develop its economic and social well being. It includes;

• A combination of Crown-owned land selected by Te Uri o Hau and cash up to a value of $15.6 million. Among the properties which Te Uri o Hau have selected are two on which Crown Forests are located. Te Uri o Hau will also receive the accumulated rentals from these forests.
• Right of First Refusal - Te Uri o Hau will also have, for a period of 50 years following the passage of the settlement legislation, a Right of First Refusal to buy, at market value, any properties in the Te Uri o Hau Right of First Refusal Area currently owned by the Crown which become surplus.