PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chen Palmer excited about the opportunities for Maori in the Post Settlement era
Chen Palmer hosted a forum in Wellington last night on the issues, challenges and opportunities facing Iwi
Post-Settlement Governance Entities.
“Most iwi and hapu have now settled and there needs to be more discussion about what legal vehicle best allows Māori to
achieve their vision and goals for their whānau, which will be economic, cultural and social, as well as being able to
engage with the Crown. We wanted to make a contribution to that debate as public lawyers,“ said Mai Chen, the Firm’s
Managing Partner.
A clear theme of the forum is that the legal structures currently available to iwi and hapū are not fit for purpose in
the post-settlement environment and will need to adapt.
“History has taught us that applying pākeha models to a Māori context does not work. We need a new high-level,
empowering and permissive statutory framework designed for the specific needs of iwi and hapū post-settlement” said Ms
Chen.
Chen Palmer would like to thank the Minister and Co-Leader of the Māori Party, Hon Tariana Turia for reinforcing the
“why” at last night’s forum. The Minister spoke about the need to ensure that any post settlement governance entity
enables Maori to grow their wealth safely and sustainably through kaupapa Māori structures that focus on governance for
the collective good; and gave her insights into the Treaty settlement process.
“Currently iwi are forced to use a second hand chess set, where they mix and match different off-the-shelf entities for
particular purposes: companies for commercial purposes, and trusts for political, social or cultural purposes. It
shouldn’t have to be this hard. We need governance structures that serve iwi nation building”, said presenter at the
forum, Sacha McMeeking.
Chen Palmer will take these lessons forward and will be publishing the Māori Law Toolbox with LexisNexis in 2015, which
will focus on the issues, opportunities and challenges in the post-settlement environment.
Hon Pita Sharples, Minister of Māori Affairs and Co-Leader of the Māori Party, will be speaking at the Auckland launch
of the Chen Palmer PSGE stocktake on Friday, 17 May from 5:30 – 7pm at Level 14, 52 Swanson Street. The event will be
led by Mai Chen, with presentations from Baden Vertongen, head of the Māori Legal Team at Chen Palmer who has advised on
high profile Treaty settlements and post-settlement governance structuring for many years, and Sacha McMeeking, founder
of Catalytic and former General Manager Strategy & Influence with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
The event is free and open to the public. To RSVP, please email Vicky Davis on vicky.davis@chenpalmer.com or contact her
on 09 557 0350.
ENDS