Delay has cost Ngāpuhi about $100m in lost interest to date

Tēnā rā tātou katoa e te iwi nui o te motu. Ko ngā mihi nui, mihi aroha ki a tātou katoa ko kōkiritia te tau hou nei. Ka mihi ki o tātou mate maha ko huri nei ki tua o maumahara i roto i te tau tawhito, otirā, ēnā o tātou ko wehe atu inaini tata ake nei, i tēnei tau hou. Haere mai haere, ko koutou rā ko ngā kaiwhatiwhati kī, kaiwhatiwhati kōrero, ko te aweawe o te rangi, ko te aweawe o te whenua. Kia tū pea mai kia piri, kia tū pea mai kia tata. Ka whitirere a ‘Manu’ ki te paepae o Ūenuku. Ka tahuri o koutou mātakitaki mutunga ki te ao mahue ake nei koutou. Ka wheriko, ka nunumi ki tua, e moe mai rā koutou.

Ki a tātou ngā mahuetanga iho ō rātou mā e pūhia nei e ngā hau āwhā o te wā, mauriora ki a tātou!

We have a new Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister who has identified the Ngāpuhi settlement as a priority for the new Government.

We urge Minister Little to progress the settlement process without delay, thereby unlocking urgently needed social, cultural and economic advancement for our people and for Northland.

There have been two key rulings to inform the coming decisions by the Crown: - In 2011 Ngāpuhi overwhelmingly ruled (76% of those who voted) that they gave their mandate to Tūhoronuku. This mandate was recognised by the Crown in 2014.

- In 2015 the Waitangi Tribunal ruled that the Crown, not Ngāpuhi, erred in the mandate process. As a consequence of this, the Tribunal instructed that the mandate be strengthened; a process that is on-going.

It is time for the Crown to step up, show leadership and get on with the job of settling Ngāpuhi. Work with those who have been mandated by Ngāpuhi and who want to advance their people in their lifetime. If others want to hold back their elders, their unemployed relations, those whānau living in caravans or unhealthily crowded conditions, then they need to step aside.

There is no need to re-litigate the mandate. Rather it is incumbent on the Crown to provide support for Ngāpuhi to meet and decide among themselves how they want the mandate to be strengthened.

The Minister has visited Ngāpuhi, has listened at many hui, and said he will give his decision soon on what he sees as the way ahead. This will be his first test as Treaty Negotiations Minister.

There are a small group of hapū who would rather hold back the wellbeing of the entire iwi. It is their choice to do so but not at the behest of Ngāpuhi. Ngāpuhi has mandated Tūhoronuku Independent Mandated Authority as the entity to negotiate on their behalf.

An overwhelming majority of Ngāpuhi have said, “let’s get on with this redress!” We heard this in the 2017 Horizon Research Poll, which found 70% of Ngāpuhi want Tūhoronuku to continue representing them.

To the Government, which has rightly put such a focus on eliminiating child poverty, we say, don’t delay the Ngāpuhi settlement any longer. We have a large number of Ngāpuhi children living in poverty! Every year redress is delayed adversely impacts on how Ngāpuhi are able to contribute to improving the wellbeing of our tamariki and our people.

Every month we delay settlement is a million dollars lost in interest alone. That’s about $100 million lost since mandate was granted by Ngāpuhi in September 2011. Money that could have been used to build houses for our people, contributed towards improving health and welfare outcomes for our whānau, including providing jobs and other opportunities.

Ngāpuhi are ready to settle. The Government needs to get on with it as well!

J. B. (Hōne) Sadler

CHAIRMAN

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