Initialling of the Taranaki Iwi Deed of Settlement between Taranaki Iwi and the Crown

Tēnā taku manu kei runga, kei raro, kei uta, kei tai e tipi, he karere!

The Taranaki Iwi Trust has resolved to initial the Taranaki Iwi Deed of Settlement with the Crown at Parliament on 29 June 2015. Initialling the Deed marks another significant step forward for Taranaki Iwi as we move towards putting the grievances of the past behind us in order to look forward to the future.

The decision to initial the Deed of Settlement was not taken lightly by the negotiators and Trustees. We are satisfied that we can move the Crown no further, and considered that we should initial the Deed of Settlement with the Crown in order that you, Taranaki Iwi, can consider the settlement agreement we have achieved.

Following our decision last year to delay the initialling of the Taranaki Iwi Deed of Settlement, the Trust and negotiators have engaged in intensive discussions with the Minister for Treaty Settlement Negotiations and the Office of Treaty Settlements regarding the Government providing support for Parihaka outside of, but leveraged through, the Taranaki Iwi Settlement.

Over the past six months your negotiators and trustees have watched with interest the progress being made by Kawe Tutaki (the working group that has been established to advise the Crown on how it might provide support to Parihaka) and the commitment that Minister Finlayson is demonstrating towards finding solutions to providing tangible benefits to the Parihaka community. In taking its decision, trustees considered many factors including, but not limited to the work being undertaken by Kawe Tutaki and its members and the high priority that Minister Finlayson is placing on this work.

We are pleased that Minister Finlayson is working constructively to identify how the Crown and Parihaka representatives might appropriately enshrine the Crown’s commitment to its future relationship with Parihaka. We see this as being vitally important and a necessary step forward.

For Taranaki Iwi we now turn our attention to the next phase of our settlement journey. We invite you to join us to mark the initialling of the Deed of Settlement at Parliament and to share in yet another historical milestone for Taranaki Iwi.

Once we have initialled the Deed of Settlement you will be provided with information relating to our history that gave rise to our grievances, and detail of the Crown settlement offer. We will give our reasons why we believe the settlement should be ratified, and the process by which you can vote to support the settlement. We have set out key dates in this pānui for you to lock in your calendars and share with whanau.

What does “initialling a Deed of Settlement” mean?

The Taranaki Iwi Trust and the Crown have developed and agreed detail for a Deed of Settlement to settle the historical claims of Taranaki Iwi. The Deed of Settlement will be initialled by each party. The Taranaki Iwi Trust will then seek ratification (approval) from Taranaki Iwi members (nga uri o Taranaki Iwi) for the proposed settlement. You will have the opportunity to vote on whether to accept the settlement or not.

If ratified, the Deed of Settlement will be formally signed by Taranaki Iwi and the Crown, and then implemented following the passage of legislation.

Initialling Ceremony

The initialling ceremony will take place at Parliament at 3:30pm on Monday 29 June 2015. All uri are welcome to attend the initialling and we ask that you confirm attendance by Friday 19 June 2015. You can do this by contacting Shi-han at the office on (06) 751 4285 or by email manager@taranakiiwi.org.nz. This is important as we need to confirm numbers.

The Trust will be organising transport from Taranaki to Wellington. At this stage the bus(es) will depart Taranaki on Sunday 28 June 2015 and will return to Taranaki following the initialling ceremony. We will be staying at Pipitea marae on Sunday night.

Deed of Settlement Ratification & Information Hui

Once we have initialled the Deed of Settlement with the Crown on 29 June 2015 we will then commence the ratification process. Registered adult Taranaki Iwi members will be able to vote on whether to accept the proposed Deed of Settlement or not.

Information Hui

To assist with informed voting, seven ratification information hui will be held to ensure that all members of Taranaki Iwi have the opportunity to be informed of the Deed of Settlement and resolution. We encourage all those of Taranaki Iwi descent to attend the hui and ask questions at the hui.

Voting

All registered adult members (18 years and over) of Taranaki Iwi are entitled to vote. Registered members who will turn 18 years old during the voting period will also be eligible to vote.

• Register as a Taranaki Iwi member.
• Not sure about your Iwi registration status? Enquire at manager@taranakiiwi.org.nz

Voting packs, which include a ratification information booklet and voting papers, will be posted to all registered adult members in early July.
Registered adult members will be able to vote online, by post, or in person at information hui. Results of the postal and internet ballot will be publicly notified in early August 2015.

Important Documents

The Deed of Settlement and ratification booklet will be available on the Taranaki Iwi website, at the Taranaki Iwi Trust office, or Te Puni Kokiri regional offices in New Plymouth, Wellington and Auckland as well as on the Office of Treaty Settlements website www.ots.govt.nz. The information will be available following the initialling of the Deed of Settlement.