Maori leader slams Minister over UN under Indigenous Rights comments

In a sign that tensions are heating up over the Government’s endorsement of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, Ngapuhi academic David Rankin has hit back at comments made by Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson.

Mr. Rankin has written to the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee of the United Nations, formally requesting seeking the return of the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi to his hapu – Te Matarahurahu.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson responded with a statement saying Mr. Rankin’s claim was “nonsense” and “disappointing”.

“This shows us that the Government was not prepared for the consequences of signing the Declaration”, says Mr. Rankin. “I would refer the Minister to Article 32 of the Declaration and ask him where is his evidence that the Crown acquired our land with the free and intelligent consent of our ancestors, which is what the United Nations now requires him to prove”.

“Mr Finlayson should get his facts straight before going to the media”, adds Mr. Rankin. “If he believes that there is no legal basis at all for our hapu’s claim, then why has the Waitangi Tribunal accepted the claim (Claim No. Wai-1466) , and allocated it a claim number for a future hearing?”

Mr Rankin believes that the Treaty Negotiations Minister is in damage control, and that his claim is the first of possibly hundreds, as Maori turn to the United Nations for redress rather than the more lengthy and unreliable process of the Waitangi Tribunal.

ENDS

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