Nelson Group Urges Government To Support Treaty Claim

The Government now needs to show its real support for indigenous people’s rights and not just play international politics, says a Nelson group fighting stalled Treaty land claims. Te Kahui Ngahuru Trust Chairman James Wheeler commented following the Government’s decision to adopt the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

He said it was great news the Government had officially supported the United Nations’ work. “Hopefully now that Minister Sharples has signed up to this Declaration, this will provide a way forward for Minister Finlayson to discuss our claim for land loss and mismanagement.”

Concern about the Government’s failure to negotiate the WAI56 claim was raised recently during New Zealand’s regular four-yearly report to the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee. Mr Wheeler said the UN Committee had urged the Government to consider further negotiations with Te Kahui Ngahuru.

“Since then we’ve made further approaches regarding WAI56, but nothing’s come of it and it’s hard to see that this new Declaration will really make any difference to us or to other Maori fighting this Government over legitimate Treaty claims.”

Mr Wheeler said there had been a sharp increase in the number of applications for urgent hearings to the Waitangi Tribunal to inquire into the Crown’s settlement policies as well as an increase in the number of judicial review cases before the courts investigating the Tribunal’s approach to determining these applications.

“If this Declaration makes the Government change its approach to Maori land claimants then it’s a good thing, but we’re a little skeptical about that.” Te Kahui Ngahuru Trust represents WAI56 claimants who descend from the 254 original Maori owners of Nelson, Motueka and Golden Bay. The Government is refusing to consider the WAI56 issues as separate to current Te Tau Ihu (top of the south) Iwi treaty negotiations.

Furthermore the Government is planning to enact legislation that will extinguish Te Kahui Ngahuru’s legal right to ask the courts to determine its claim.

ENDS

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