Media release – for immediate release – 16 November 2012
Rangitane Deed of Settlement on Hold
Plans to sign a Deed of Settlement with Manawatu iwi Rangitane have been placed on hold after members of the iwi
protested they had been excluded from effective participation in the settlement process.
Members of Ko te Pou Marangatahi o Rangitane ki Manawatu met with Treaty Negotiations Minister, Hon Chris Finlayson and
Whanau Ora Minister, Hon Tariana Turia to discuss their concerns. The group says the Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS)
wrongly supports the authority of Tanenuiarangi Manawatu Incorporated (TMI) a Maori Urban Authority established in the
late 1990's as legitimate claimants to the settlement.
Brigitte Te Awe Awe-Bevan spokesperson for the group says, "Rangitane whakapapa is being re-written and distorted, as
TMI has inserted Ngati Apa into the whakapapa, claiming they are Rangitane. Ngati Tauira is now a hapu of Rangitane for
the purpose of the settlement. This is completely wrong, and not our history".
In the event that the proposed settlement is to proceeed members of Rangitane wish to inspect the documents constituting
the proposed Post Settlement Governance Entity (PSGE). Proper and free access to the PSGE has so far been denied to the
group. The OTS has told the group the PSGE documents can only be viewed under the surveillance of OTS officials, cannot
be copied and that only handwritten notes can be taken.
Ko te Pou Marangatahi o Rangitane ki Manawatu lodged an application for an urgent hearing with the Waitangi Tribunal in
March 2012 which was subsequently denied on the grounds of budgetary constraints. The various merits of the group's
application were not addressed.
The group's members include whanau of the sole remaining customary marae, Rangimarie just south of Palmerston North, and
leading Rangitane families which include that of Sir Eddie Durie, Former Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court and Chair
of the Waitangi Tribunal.
The group has yet to hear back from the Treaty Negotiations Minister who is taking an in-depth look at the groups
concerns.
ENDS