Objection to Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa Claims Settlement Bill Submission by Graham Williams – No Mandate

Submission on the NGATIKAHU KI WHANGAROA CLAIMS SETTLEMENT Bill

To the Māori Affairs Committee

Personal Details

This submission is from Graham Williams, PO Box 301347, Albany, North Shore City, Auckland. Currently, I am residing in the UK; however I can be contacted via email at graham.williams@wairuakiwi.com, if you have any questions.

Submission

I oppose this bill because:

The Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa Trust Board has failed to provide up-to-date mandate affirmation reports; and as such have failed to prove their mandate to represent the people of Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa. In fact, they have not even provided one mandate affirmation report detailing voting numbers over the past 8 years.

Actions taken:

  • I have requested a copy of all of the mandate reports from the Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa Trust Board; however my requests have been ignored
  • I have complained to OTS, and have requested a copy of all of the mandate reports provided to them; however the response from OTS was that none have been provided to them
  • OTS has tried to justify the continuation of the Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa Trust Board mandate by speculating that the roadshows, facebook page and website, somehow show that the Trust Board had affirmed its mandate. Unfortunately, the only thing OTS has demonstrated is their bias to support a Trust Board that has failed to prove its mandate
  • I have complained directly to Mr Finlayson; however he has replied saying he had considered my complaint; however that he saw no issue, and provided me with an out-dated copy of the Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa mandate document from 2010

I wish to make the following comments:

The Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa Trust Board has failed to engage with its wider Iwi. I have tried over the past 8 years on numerous occasions to engage with the Trust Board via email and on their facebook page; however they have refused to answer any of my questions, or respond to any of my comments on their facebook page. I have requested copies of mandate reports, hui minutes, copies of the AIP, and the Deed of Settlement; however I have been denied timely access to all material.

Mr Finlayson in his First Reading of this Bill, eluded to the fact that 78% of the people that voted, had voted to accept the Deed of Settlement. What Mr Finlayson has failed to mention is that only 585 people voted to accept the Government’s offer, of a 3800+ strong Iwi. With a very low voting turnout of only 30%, the 585 who voted to accept the offer represent a mere 15% of our Iwi. I emailed Mr Finlayson pointing this fact out; however he replied saying that 24% of the eligible voters voted to accept the offer, and that that was a sufficient level of support to go forward.

Recommendations

The mandate has not been maintained by the Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa Trust Board, and as such the Trust Board cannot demonstrate that they represent all hapu within the Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa area. The very low voting turnout and minority acceptance of the Deed of Settlement, is testament to this fact.

This bill cannot be passed until all hapu have been fully engaged and represented; to do so would be to deny natural justice. The Waitangi Tribunal follows the rules of natural justice to ensure that all parties entitled receive fair representation; this has clearly not been the case.

Leave a Reply