Ka Tōnuitanga

Good news in Māori media with a refreshed Mana Magazine hitting the shelf’s today, including an article I wrote on the aspirations of Te Ātiawa following what looks like the approval by the Iwi of the Deed of Settlement initialed back in May.  I have been highly critical of the deal that was done, but we have to move forward with what has been agreed by the Iwi and the settlement provides a substantial foundation to build a more prosperous future on.  You can read the full article in the August/September issue of Mana Magazine.

I often get asked how I find the time to do everything that I do.  Between work, my secondment here in Whakatane, writing at Ka Tōnuitanga and other free-lance writing work, working on my LLM and economic development text, and spending time with friends and family around New Zealand and the world, there is often not much time left at the end of each day for relaxation.  But as I explain to them, that is the way I love to live my life.

Life is an adventure and the more experience I gain, and the more experiences I get, the more opportunities come my way.  There is always another piece of work to be done, another conference to attend, another article to be written, another country to visit, and another sporting event to train for.  One of my favourite quotes is the idea that you can be rich and successful, or you can sit on the couch and watch 4 hours of television each day – but you cannot be both.  And I think that is primarily where I find the time to do what I do.  We each have available to us the same 24 hours, it is how we use them that counts.

One thing I discuss with those who are considering the Ka Tōnuitanga Business Development Programme is that the commitment required is not for the faint-hearted.  Because once you find that one thing that drives you forward, a large proportion of those 24 hours will be dedicated to achieving your goal.  Success, however you define it, does not come to those sitting on the couch waiting for life to happen to them.

Ka Tōnuitanga is about developing society and people to be the best possible version of themselves.  Māori development is about much more than institutions, strategy, development opportunities, and cold hard cash.  Māori development is about ensuring that every whānau and every Māori has the tools and opportunities available to them to so that they can go out there and live their dreams.  The rest is up to us.

One of the many things I love about Ranginui Walker is that the title of his seminal text on Māori development perfectly encapsulates the spirit of Māori throughout Aotearoa / New Zealand.  Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou – A Struggle Without End.  To Māori this is a call to arms, a rallying cry that we will not accept discrimination, racism, and the continued denial of our tino rangatiratanga.

Nowhere has the spirit of Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou been more prevalent over the past decade than in the ongoing debate over the ownership of the foreshore and seabed.  From Ngāti Apa, to the Foreshore and Seabed Act, to the Takutai Moana Act, Māori have continued to assert their ownership rights over the foreshore and seabed.  It has led to the formation of not one, but two new political movements; brought together the Business Roundtable and the Green Party; and seen a National Party demonstrate more (even if only marginally) respect for Māori rights than Labour.

While each piece of legislation was designed to be a lasting solution to the proclaimed uncertainty of the Ngāti Apa decision (a decision which was in fact clear, concise, and narrow in its scope and application), this issue is far from closed.  Speaking in Whangarei last week, Labour party leader David Cunliffe stated that Labour were open to taking a fresh look at the foreshore and seabed legislation if it were elected into Government following the September General Election.

Mr Cunliffe told about 45 people at a kuia and kaumatua hui at Te Renga Paraoa Marae in Whangarei he thought Labour would today admit it was wrong with its foreshore and seabed laws denying court challenges and as the party came back into power it would take a fresh look at the issue.

Hardly encouraging words of course – the current Act already allows for Māori to test their claims for title in the Courts – and there was no concrete commitment to a review, amendment, or repeal of the current legislation.  What it does represent for the parties advocating for Māori rights is an opportunity to test the waters and push for either an improved piece of legislation, or even a complete repeal.  For Labour, it represents an opportunity to atone for one of the largest confiscations of Māori land since the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840.

In fact, the only real impediment to full recognition of Māori rights in the foreshore and seabed is the Labour party.  We know the outcome that both the Māori and Mana parties would prefer, and the Greens have been consistent in their call for the respect and recognition of customary rights.  Even ACT once held a principled position when it argued for the protection of property rights – who ever those rights belonged to.  Will David Cunliffe back his words that Labour “would today admit it was wrong” and take a fresh look at the foreshore and seabed or was it nothing more than telling the base what it wants to hear? What does taking a fresh look mean? Should we expect a coherent and principled policy statement prior to the election or are we going to have to live in hope that a throwaway line at a sparsely attended hui in Whangarei will turn into concrete action?

I’ll even make it easy for them and set out the principles on which we should build a workable regime to manage the foreshore and seabed:

• A legislative apology for the confiscation of the foreshore and seabed in the Foreshore and Seabed Act;
• The establishment of a special unit of the Māori Land Court to determine the original owners of foreshore and seabed land not currently in private ownership, and to grant title to a representative body of that whānau, hapū, or iwi;
• The grant of title to be based solely on the basis of authority and control in the period leading up to 1840;
• The power to prevent new commercial activity from occurring in the foreshore and seabed – including commercial activities pertaining to Crown minerals;
• The power to impose a rahui over the area (preferably on confirmation by the Māori Land Court); and
• Recognition of the rights of recreational activities (including swimming, water sports, and fishing) in the foreshore and seabed, alongside the right of free passage for ships.

This may be nothing more than a wish and a prayer, especially with current polls indicating a third term for the National Government.  For now we may have to live with incremental change – and accept that sometimes the realities of politics means that it is better to take a bad deal than to be forced to live with a terrible deal.

But our struggle does not end.

I am halfway into a 5 month secondment with Te Runanga o Ngāti Awa down in Whakatane and it is turning into one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  I have long worked with Hapu and Iwi groups but this is the first time that I have worked in an Iwi organisation.   There is a really positive vibe around this organisation which, after some rocky years, is back making profits and making a real difference in the local community.  No where better is this illustrated than its inclusion as one of the finalists in this years Ahuwhenua Trophy.

The rather spectacular view from a Ngati Awa pa site

Last week I was given a tour around some of the historical sites around Whakatane, as well as looking at the farming and conservation activities going on on one of their farming blocks.  The knowledge of the people in this organisation is immense, and the conservation efforts are outstanding.  Wetlands are going in, flood protections works have been put in place, and a large scale native planting programme is under way.  Along the way, Ngati Awa has developed a good working relationship with the local and regional council (both located in Whakatane) and there have been several environmental projects undertaken as a partnership between all three bodies.

It is easy to criticise Iwi, but take a closer look under the surface and you will find a group of Maori who are committed to improving the lives of their whanaunga.  An Iwi is a collection of people and that is at the heart of every single iwi and hapu group I have worked with across the country.  Too often we forget that.  Yes, this is a corporate environment, but that does not mean it cannot be a kaupapa Maori environment.  Tikanga is a practice.  It is what we do each and every day.  Our walls and our institutions may be of a European origin – but that does not mean our daily practice has to be.

Wiremu Kīngi was the paramount Chief of Te Ātiawa in the mid 1800’s, and a signatory to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840.  Following the purported purchase of Waitara by the Colonial Government in 1859, he sent a clear message to Governor Gore Browne that Waitara was not for sale:

E kore au e whakaae kia hokona a Waitara… kei roto a Waitara i te kapu o tōku ringa, kore mō te tuku. Kore, kore, kore rawa mō te tuku

I will not permit the sale of Waitara … Waitara is in my hands, I will not give it up; I will not, I will not, I will not

Following the initial war in Taranaki, the purchase of Waitara was cancelled by the Colonial Government.  However, a further outbreak of war in 1863 lead to the wide scale confiscation of Taranaki from the constituent Iwi and Hapū, and the loss of Waitara.  Now it seems we might never get our ancestral homeland back.

Last week I wrote in full support of the recently agreed Te Atiawa settlement with the Crown – writing based on the belief that the land at the heart of our claim – the Pekapeka block in Waitara – would be returned to our iwi.  That is why yesterday’s initialing of the Deed of Settlement in Wellington should have been a joyous occasion for our iwi.   Yet, in a few short hours that sense of relief that the long road to settlement was finally over was replaced by a bitter sense of disappointment and disillusionment with our leaders.  In all their infinite wisdom they had elected not to take up the Crown, and New Plymouth District Council’s offer of including the Pekapeka lands in the final settlement.

It is beyond comprehension.  The taking of this land led to the outbreak of the Land Wars, and forced Te Atiawa into a nomadic existence for decades.  The chance to finally regain control of a part of our ancestral land at Waitara is an opportunity that should have been the bottom line of any settlement discussions – not something to throw out the window when the cash came calling.

Yes, this could all be part of an ingenious strategy to purchase the land from the Council at a reduced rate through private sale but this option is fraught with dangers.  Waitara is worth too much to gamble on.

We have been down this path before, 15 years on from our first failed settlement it is likely we will once again fail to come up with a settlement that meets the wishes and needs of Te Atiawa.  This time, it is all our own fault.

From Te Manu Korihi:

Chris Karamea Insley of iwi development company 37 Degrees South said the review would tidy up the structures and laws but it would not drive the development of Maori land.

He said the Maori trusts and incorporations which hold large scale assets didn’t have the capability, staffing or technical expertise to get the job done.

Mr Insley said while the review was helpful, it wouldn’t address the capability problems within trust and corporations and therefore was not a solution.

The review of Te Ture Whenua Māori 1993 is gathering pace, and it is encouraging that an important piece of the Māori economic development framework is being reworked to reflect 21 years of knowledge and experience that we have gained from operating our commercial affairs under predominately Western structures.  Yet, as the above quotation recognises, simply reviewing the legislation governing the administration of Māori land is not going to be a complete solution to the problems faced by Māori who seek to develop their land.  Te Ture Whenua Māori was never designed to solve any capability problem within Māori organisations.  It is only part of the Māori economic development framework.  An integral part all the same.

The point I want to touch on today is the idea that there is a capability problem holding back Māori organisations.  To put it briefly, and to put it bluntly – there is no capability problem within Te Ao Māori.  I am proud to be part of a highly-skilled, highly-motivated, generation of Māori.  Māori with the capability to drive our continued development.  Look inside any major corporation, industry, political movement, and iwi organisation and you will find young Māori making their mark.  And there are more and more coming out of our Universities and our Wananga each and every year.

There is no capability problems – only a mindset problem.  The mindset that says that Rangatahi Māori have to wait their turn.  The mindset that says that Kaumatua are the best people to sit on commercial boards.  The mindset that there is simply not enough talented, knowledgable, and experienced Māori to do the job correctly.  There are a multitude of issues holding back Māori land development, lack of capability is not one of them.