Senior NZ First MP Shane Jones. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Senior NZ First MP Shane Jones says his party is drafting a member's bill forcing Aotearoa's largest iwi, Ngāpuhi, into a single commercial settlement.
The revelation comes following comments by Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith last week who said while it was the government's preference to have one commercial settlement for Ngāpuhi, he was open to multiple cultural redresses underneath it.
In 2023, the previous Labour government initialled a Deed of Settlement with East Coast iwi Te Whānau a Apanui which included an "agree-to-disagree" clause where the iwi maintained it was a sovereign nation while the Crown also maintained its own sovereignty.
Goldsmith said that was not something the government was comfortable acknowledging and that the Crown was sovereign and represented the "democratic will" of New Zealand.
Speaking to RNZ, Shane Jones said the bill would ensure there was no mention of hapū sovereignty in any settlement with Ngāpuhi and would set up interim body to "hold and grow" the settlement.
Jones said a settlement of the Ngāpuhi claim should be focused on good governance, a strong economic base and not get distracted by "insoluble debates pertaining to indigenous sovereignty".
"Of all the tribes in Māoridom, it is astonishing to me that Ngāpuhi, who ran to sign the Treaty before anyone else, all of a sudden, is seeking to create a newfound status as a sovereign nation."
"Ngāpuhi were the 'Treaty people'. The treaty is a fusion of the two traditions, the two peoples. That is why Governor Hobson said, 'he iwi tahi tātou' to together, we are one people." Jones said.
RNZ has contacted Ngāpuhi for comment.
The NZ Herald reported Ngāti Hine leader Pita Tipene had ruled out a settlement with the current government following Goldsmith's comments.
The bill was an attempt to draw a "line in the sand", Jones said.
"There is only one sovereignty, only one citizenship and an indivisible sense of nationhood.... no more interminable sovereignty debates, no more protracted, endless negotiation processes at a time where we're struggling to put fiscal resources together, to build hospitals, improve roads.
He said the claim had already consumed millions of dollars with "nothing to show for it" other than the creation of Tupu Tonu Ngāpuhi Investment Fund in late 2020.
"There's only one economic settlement for the Ngāpuhi tribe. Now I realize that this will jar for many of the hapu leaders, but this is a time for the big fish, not the sprats"
"We're talking about a part of New Zealand that suffers through awful economic hardship stats, Ngāpuhi is the most imprisoned tribe, Ngāpuhi, I would say to you, has probably the worst stats of all tribes for poor social outcomes.
"We've got no more bandwidth to indulge with sovereignty debates, or indeed, working in such a way where it turns Ngāpuhi into economic confetti." Jones said.
Jones said the "sovereignty dream" was a "diversion" the New Zealand taxpayer cannot afford to pay for.
"[The bill] will bring great clarity as to how this claim can be settled, and then people can consult on the members bill, and I accept it will take some time, but they will have a clear target, because at the moment, it's like a flock of ducks quacking loudly, flying in all different directions, and sadly, that's what the Ngāpuhi claim has turned into." Jones said.
Ngāpuhi settlement "complex" - Acting Prime Minister
Speaking at a post-cabinet briefing, Acting Prime Minister David Seymour said he was yet to see New Zealand First's proposal but a settlement with Ngāpuhi was likely the most "complex" that the government would enter into.
"If they've got an idea, I think all ideas should be welcome at the table, because a settlement with Ngāpuhi would be good for the people of that iwi, but also very good for the Northland region, and ultimately good for New Zealand, because there are so many young people in that region who are so important to New Zealand's future."
"You've got some quite disparate groups, [and] some even say that Ngāpuhi as an iwi really is an invention from outside the rohe, and that in reality, there are many hapū rather than one iwi and then there are people who say Ngāpuhi really is one iwi, there's a lot of controversy there."
It was possible to have one settlement for commercial redress and other cultural redresses, but that was up to the Minister for Treaty Negotiations, Seymour said.
Seymour said being of Ngāti Rēhia descent, he personally believed hapū was at the "core" and Ngāpuhi was secondary to that, but NZ First were entitled to their view and it did not affect how he viewed the policy.
Ngāpuhi settlement "unlikely" this term - Labour
Speaking to media, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said agreeing to disagree did not mean the Crown was ceding sovereignty.
"It does not mean that the Crown is, in any way, accepting that the Crown doesn't currently exercise sovereignty in New Zealand.
"What it is doing is acknowledging that Māori iwi, across the country, take the view that that Māori did not cede sovereignty in signing the Treaty, and I think those two things are not incompatible."
You can't get a good faith negotiation around a treaty settlement by pre-determining the terms through a law of Parliament, Hipkins said.
"I think if you go back and you look at the history of Treaty grievances, that's how they get created in the first place."
Asked if he thought the government had a shot at signing a Ngāpuhi settlement this term, Hipkins said it looked very unlikely.
Up until 2019 the Crown had continued to recognise the Tuhoronuku mandate - one mandate for all Ngāpuhi - which was rejected by hāpu.
The National government accepted the Tuhoronuku mandate in 2009, initiated by then rūnanga leader Sonny Tau.
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