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te kaupapa Whakaorangia Tō
Tātou Whenua Rongomaiwhiti:
Tiakina Ihumātao
Te pūrongo a te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori
Hongongoi 2019
Ngā kōrero
Tūtohutanga.......................................................................................................................... 2
Te inoi kia tiakina te SHA 62 ki te koutu o Ihumātao ............................................................. 2
Ngā kōrero ............................................................................................................................ 2
Te hītori o Ihumātao .............................................................................................................. 3
He panonitanga ki te āhua o te tautapanga o SHA 62 ........................................................... 4
Te reta a Fletcher Building ki te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori ............................................... 5
Ngā huarahi ture i whāia e ngā kaipetihana .......................................................................... 6
Te mana o Ihumātao i roto i ngā whakataunga Tiriti .............................................................. 7
Ngā otinga i marohitia e ngā kaipetihana .............................................................................. 8
Te aro mai a te hapori, te ao pāpāho, me te ao whānui......................................................... 8
Kupu whakakapi.................................................................................................................... 9
Tāpiritanga .......................................................................................................................... 10
Rino Tirikatene
Heamana
TE PETIHANA A PANIA NEWTON MŌ TE KAUPAPA WHAKAORANGIA TŌ TĀTOU WHENUA
RONGOMAIWHITI: TIAKINA IHUMĀTAO
Tūtohutanga
Kua tirohia e Te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori te petihana a Pania Newton—te kaupapa
Whakaorangia Tō Tātou Whenua Rongomaiwhiti: Tiakina Ihumātao—ā, e tūtohu ana kia
mataara Te Whare ki tana pūrongo.
Ngā kōrero
E pā ana te petihana nei ki te tiakitanga o ngā heketea e 32 o te whenua i te pito o te koutu
o Ihumātao i te tonga o Tāmaki Makaurau. Kei te 545-561 Rori o Ōruarangi, Māngere te
whenua nei, ā, e kīia ana hoki ko te Whaitua Tūnga Whare Motuhake 62 (SHA 62).
I te tau 2016, i rongo ngā kaikōmihana whakamahere i ngā tāpaetanga a ngā kaipupuri
whenua e noho tata atu ana, e pā ana ki te tono kia tangoni te mahere. I waenga i aua
kaitāpae ko ngā kaipetihana, e kīia nei ko Save Our Unique Landscape (SOUL), he kainoho
o te Papakāinga o Ihumātao, te Rūnanga ā-Iwi o Te Kawerau, 1 me te Poutiaki Māori o
Makaurau Marae. 2 I whakaaetia te tangongitanga ki te mahere, ā, i te tau 2016 i hokona te
SHA 62 e ngā kaipupuri whenua i raro i te ture, e te whānau Wallace, ki a Fletcher Building.
2
PETIHANA A PANIA NEWTON MŌ TE KAUPAPA WHAKAORANGIA TŌ TĀTOU WHENUA RONGOMAIWHITI:
TIAKINA IHUMĀTAO
I rongo mātou e whakaaro ana a Fletcher Building ki te hanga i ngā whare e 480 ki runga i te
whenua. E ātete ana ngā kaipetihana—tokoono rātou, he whanaunga katoa, e heke mai ana
i ngā kāwai whakapapa o te mana whenua, o Te Waiohua, Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Mahuta,
Te Ahiwaru, Ngāti Tahinga, me Te Ākitai—i te whakawhanaketanga o te SHA 62 e
maheretia ana mō Ihumātao e Fletcher Building. Ko tōna $36 miriona te uara o te whenua e
tohea nei.
E pupuri tonu ana ngā kaipetihana ki tā rātou, arā me tiaki te wāhi mō tana uara hītori, uara
ahurea, uara huakanga whenua hoki, ā, me tiaki mō ngā whakatupuranga e haere ake nei
hei wāhi tūmatanui wātea. Hei tā rātou ka taea taua whenua te whakamahi mō ngā hinonga
hapori tiaki whenua, whakapaipai whenua hoki. I rongo mātou ka taea e aua hinonga te
tautoko ngā mahi tāpoi, ngā māra, te whakatupu rākau taketake, tae atu ki ngā mahi
pūtaiao, ngā mahi rangahau, me ngā mahi mātauranga hoki.
I rongo mātou ka tīmata pea ngā whakawhanaketanga ā tōna wā, ā, e rite ana ngā kaihāpai
ki te tiaki ā-tinana nei i te whenua, he ātete riri-kore mena ka ngana rātou ki te tīmata i ngā
whakawhanaketanga. I kī mai rātou kāore rātou i te pīrangi kia kitea anō ngā mahi o runga
Takaparawhā, ā, me kakama hoki te urunga mai a te Kāwanatanga. E āwangawanga ana
mātou kia mau tonu te rongo i runga i te mata o te whenua, me te haumaru o ngā tāngata
katoa i roto i te kaupapa.
Te hītori o Ihumātao
I kīia mai ki a mātou, i nōhia te whenua e Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Whātua, me ngā rōpū o
Waiohua e hono ana ki a Waikato-Tainui (ko Te Ahiwaru rātou ko Te Ākitai Waiohua, ko
Ngāti Tai Tāmaki, ko Ngāti Te Ata, ko Ngāti Tamaoho, ko Te Kawerau ā Maki).
E mārama ana ki a mātou ko Ihumātao te wāhi o ngā nohoanga tangata tawhito katoa o
Tāmaki Makaurau, ā, kei reira he urupā me ētahi atu tohu o te nohoanga tuatahi o te
tangata.
3 Te murunga whenua Māori i te wā o ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa i te rau tau tekau mā iwa, i muri mai hoki.
3
TE PETIHANA A PANIA NEWTON MŌ TE KAUPAPA WHAKAORANGIA TŌ TĀTOU WHENUA
RONGOMAIWHITI: TIAKINA IHUMĀTAO
I te hiku o ngā tau 1990, i rapu te Kaunihera Tāone o Manukau ō mua, te Kaunihera ā-Rohe
o Tāmaki Makaurau, me Te Ringa Atawhai ki te tiaki i te wāhi hītori nei. E $4.7 miriona i
whakautua tahitia e rātou hei hoko i te whenua mai i ngā whānau mahi pāmu e whā.
I kī mai ngā kaipetihana, me noho hei wāhi hītori whakahirahira ko te whenua e pā tata atu
ana hoki, arā ko SHA 62, kia rite ki te Papakōhatu o Ōtuataua. I kī mai rātou me tiaki rawa
ko te Papakōhatu; te Poraka Rennie e piri tata ana, nō te Kaunihera; me te SHA 62 hoki, ā,
me noho mai hei wāhi kotahi.
I rongo mātou mai i ngā kaipetihana, kua whakaae te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau:
4 Ko te Pae Tāone Nunui o Tāmaki Makaurau (MUL) te roherohenga āpure e whakatau ana i te pae o te wāhi
tāone me te wāhi taiwhenua o te rohe.
5 Ngā whenua i waho i te MUL, kua tautapangia hei wāhi whakawhanaketanga ā muri nei.
4
PETIHANA A PANIA NEWTON MŌ TE KAUPAPA WHAKAORANGIA TŌ TĀTOU WHENUA RONGOMAIWHITI:
TIAKINA IHUMĀTAO
I tuhi ia e tautoko ana a Fletcher Building i Te Kawerau ā Maki, koia hoki te mana whenua o
Ihumātao. Hei tāna e mahi tahi ana a Fletcher Building me te iwi, ā, e tautoko ana i ōna
wawata mō te tiaki i te whaitua huri noa.
I rongo mātou mai i te tumuaki, kua kīia tūmatanuitia e Te Kawerau ā Maki e mōhio ana
rātou ki te whakapapa me ngā pānga o ētahi atu hapū, ētahi atu iwi hoki ki te whenua. Heoi
anō, kāore rātou i te whakaae kia noho mai a SOUL hei māngai mō te mana whenua.
I tuhi ia, kua nuku atu i te koata o wō Fletcher whenua, e 32 heketea te nui, i whakahokia e
rātou ki te iwi hei wāhi o te mahinga tahi i waenga i a Fletcher me Te Kawerau ā Maki. Hei
tāna kua 150 tau te whenua e noho tūmataiti ana, ā, i mua atu kāore i wātea ki te iwi. E
whakapono ana ia koinei te tuatahi o tēnei momo whakaaetanga.
• e whā tekau ngā whare, he māmā te utu, ka wātea mai ki te iwi hei hoko, ā, ka
whakawhanaketia he kaupapa huarahi-ki-te-pupuri-whare hei āwhina i te iwi ki te hoko
whare
5
TE PETIHANA A PANIA NEWTON MŌ TE KAUPAPA WHAKAORANGIA TŌ TĀTOU WHENUA
RONGOMAIWHITI: TIAKINA IHUMĀTAO
• ka hangaia he Whare Manaaki hei taki i ngā kōrero o te mana whenua me ngā iwi i tau
mai
• ka whakawhanaketia he kawa, he mahere hoki mō ngā huranga huakanga whenua,
huranga tuku iho hoki
• ka hangaia he whare manuhiri kia pai ai te tuari me te whakanui i te hītori o te
Papakōhatu, me ngā kōrero o te mana whenua; kei roto i tērā ko te whakatūnga o ngā
kaitohutohu tikanga.
I kīia mai ki a mātou kua kōrerorero tahi a Fletcher, te kāwanatanga ā-rohe, me te
kāwanatanga ā-motu mō te whakawhānui i te Whenua Rāhui Papakōhatu o Ōtuataua
ōnaianei kia whai wāhi ai te whenua e tohea nei. I kī mai a Fletcher kāore he take mō tētahi
atu wāhi rāhui i tēnei takiwā.
E ai ki a ia kāore anō a Fletcher Building kia whakatau i te rā tīmata i aua mahi, engari e
whakaaro ana ki te tīmata ākuanei.
7 Ko ngā kaitono ko Haki Wilson rātou ko Bobbi-Jo Pihema, ko Qiane Matata-Sipu, ko Pania Newton, ko
Waimarie McFarland (katoa rātou he kaihāpai i te kaupapa SOUL).
6
PETIHANA A PANIA NEWTON MŌ TE KAUPAPA WHAKAORANGIA TŌ TĀTOU WHENUA RONGOMAIWHITI:
TIAKINA IHUMĀTAO
Te Kōti Taiao
I te Whiringa ā Rangi 2018, i whakatau te Kōti Taiao i eke ki tua o te taumata e tika ana ko te
tiakitanga a te mahere whakahaere i ngā taonga, pēnei me te kōiwi. He mahere tērā i
whakaritea e Fletcher mō te whanaketanga nei nā, ā, nā te Pouhere Taonga i whakamana. I
whakatau hoki te Kōti Taiao e pai ana kia tū tahi te whakawhanaketanga kāinga nei me te
Whenua Rāhui Hītori Papakōhatu o Ōtuataua. 9
I rongo mātou e takoto ana a Ihumātao i roto i ngā rohe pānga o ngā iwi o Waikato-Tainui
me Waiohua, ā, kei roto hoki a Ihumātao i ngā kōrero tuku iho a Ngāti Tamaoho 11 rāua ko
Te Kawerau ā Maki. 12
Kāore te SHA 62 e wātea ana mō ngā whakataunga Tiriti, he tūmataiti nōna. Heoi, kei roto a
Ihumātao i ētahi whakataunga Tiriti huhua.
Kua tāpaetia ki a Te Ākitai Waiohua te mana ā-ture o te Whenua Rāhui Hītori Papakōhatu o
Ōtuataua i roto i te Whakaaetanga Mātāpono i waenga i te Karauna me Te Ākitai Waiohua.
E mahi tahi ana te Karauna me Te Ākitai Waiohua kia waitohua ai te whakaaetanga
whakataunga hei te hiku o te tau 2019.
7
TE PETIHANA A PANIA NEWTON MŌ TE KAUPAPA WHAKAORANGIA TŌ TĀTOU WHENUA
RONGOMAIWHITI: TIAKINA IHUMĀTAO
Ko ngā iwi kāore anō kia uru ki ngā whiriwhiringa hei whakatau i ngā kerēme hītori Tiriti o
Waitangi i roto i te rohe o Ihumātao ko Waikato-Tainui (ko ngā kerēme anake ehara i te
raupatu) rāua ko Ngāti Te Ata. I kīia mai ki a mātau, ka ea ngā whakataunga o aua iwi, ka oti
ngā kerēme hītori katoa i te takiwā o Ihumātao.
E mātau ana mātou kua kaha hoki te aro atu a te ao pāpāho, ā, kua tāngia ngā tuhinga e pā
ana ki te kaupapa SOUL ki ētahi puna kōrero huhua pēnei me RNZ, Noted, New Zealand
Herald, me Stuff.
8
PETIHANA A PANIA NEWTON MŌ TE KAUPAPA WHAKAORANGIA TŌ TĀTOU WHENUA RONGOMAIWHITI:
TIAKINA IHUMĀTAO
Kupu whakakapi
I te Paengawhāwhā 2019, i haere atu ētahi o ngā mema o tēnei komiti ki te SHA 62 ki
Ihumātao. I kite ngā mema i te whakahirahira o te hītori o te whenua, me te manawa tītī
tūturu o ngā kaipetihana. E mihi ana mātou ki ngā kaipetihana mō rātou i pōhiri i a mātou ki
tō rātou marae, me te whakaatu i te whenua ki a mātou. E mātau ana mātou ki ngā tau roa i
taumaha ai te mahi a ngā kaipetihana, ā, e mārama ana ki a mātou te nui o te rangahau kua
oti i a rātou.
E mōhio ana mātou he taumaha te āhuatanga o runga o SHA 62. E tukituki ana ngā tika me
ngā pānga ki taua whenua. Ko ētahi o aua tika ko te tika ki te whakawhanake i te whenua e
ai ki tā te kaipupuri tūmataiti e pai ai. Heoi anō, e mārama ana ki a mātou te hiahia o ngā
kaipetihana ki te tiaki i te wāhi whakahirahira nei ki te hītori. E whakahau ana mātou i ngā
rōpū whai pānga katoa kia hūmārie, kia whaihua te mahi tahi i raro i te ngākau pai.
17 Ko te Māngai Motuhake te ingoa ka tapaina ki te hunga e mahi ana mō te Kotahitanga o ngā Iwi o te Ao, e
pūrongo ana i ētahi whenua, i ētahi take nui rānei.
18 Palais des Nations,
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=24461.
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TE PETIHANA A PANIA NEWTON MŌ TE KAUPAPA WHAKAORANGIA TŌ TĀTOU WHENUA
RONGOMAIWHITI: TIAKINA IHUMĀTAO
Tāpiritanga
Hātepe komiti
I tukuna mai te petihana ki a mātou i te 13 Poutūterangi 2019. I hui mātou i waenga i te 3
Paengawhāwhā me te 24 Hongongoi 2019 hei whiriwhiri i te petihana. I whiwhi kupu taunaki
mātou mai i te kaipetihana, ā, i rongo mātou i ngā kōrero taunaki a te kaipetihana.
Mematanga komiti, ko
Rino Tirikatene (Heamana)
Dan Bidois
Marama Davidson
Joanne Hayes
Matt King (mai i te 22 Haratua 2019)
Adrian Rurawhe
Hon Nicky Wagner
Hon Meka Whaitiri
10
Petition of Pania Newton for Save
Our Unique Landscape
Campaign: Protect Ihumātao
Report of the Māori Affairs Committee
July 2019
Contents
Recommendation ................................................................................................................ 12
Request for the protection of SHA 62 at Ihumātao Peninsula .............................................. 12
Background......................................................................................................................... 12
History of Ihumātao ............................................................................................................. 13
A change in how SHA 62 was designated ........................................................................... 13
Letter from Fletcher Building to the Māori Affairs Committee............................................... 14
Legal avenues explored by the petitioners .......................................................................... 16
Status of Ihumātao in Treaty settlements ............................................................................ 16
Solutions suggested by the petitioners ................................................................................ 17
Community, media, and international interest ..................................................................... 18
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 18
Appendix ............................................................................................................................. 19
Rino Tirikatene
Chairperson
PETITION OF PANIA NEWTON FOR SAVE OUR UNIQUE LANDSCAPE: PROTECT IHUMĀTAO
Recommendation
The Māori Affairs Committee has considered the petition of Pania Newton—Save Our
Unique Landscape Campaign: Protect Ihumātao—and recommends that the House take
note of its report.
Background
This petition is about the protection of 32 hectares of land at the end of Ihumātao Peninsula
in south Auckland. The land is situated at 545–561 Oruarangi Road, Mangere, and is also
known as Special Housing Area 62 (SHA 62).
In May 2014, Auckland Council recommended to the Minister for Building and Housing that
the land be designated as a Special Housing Area under the Housing Accords and Special
Housing Areas Act 2013. The Minister for Building and Housing made that designation in
July 2014, creating SHA 62. An application for a variation to the proposed Auckland Unitary
Plan was then made, to change the land from Future Urban to a “live” urban zone.
We heard that Fletcher Building plans to build 480 dwellings on the land. The petitioners—
who comprise six mana whenua cousins of Te Waiohua, Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Mahuta, Te
Ahiwaru, Ngāti Tahinga, and Te Ākitai whakapapa—oppose the SHA 62 development
planned for Ihumātao by Fletcher Building. The disputed land is worth approximately $36
million.
The petitioners maintain that the site needs to be protected for its historical, cultural, and
archaeological value and preserved for future generations as a public open space. They said
12
PETITION OF PANIA NEWTON FOR SAVE OUR UNIQUE LANDSCAPE: PROTECT IHUMĀTAO
We heard that development could begin anytime and that campaigners are prepared to
physically protect the land through non-violet protest if development is attempted. They told
us that they do not want to see a repeat of what happened at Bastion Point and that the
Government urgently needs to take action. We are concerned about maintaining peace on
the whenua and the safety of everyone involved.
History of Ihumātao
We were informed that, historically, the land at Ihumātao was occupied by Waikato-Tainui,
Ngāti Whatua, and Waiohua groups affiliated to Waikato-Tainui (Te Ahiwaru, Te Ākitai
Waiohua, Ngāti Tai Tāmaki, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Tamaoho, and Te Kawerau ā Maki).
The Crown confiscated most of the land at Ihumātao under the New Zealand Settlement Act
1863. The confiscation was part of the raupatu 21 by the Crown against Waikato-Tainui in
1865. Four years after the raupatu, SHA 62 was sold by the Crown into private ownership.
We understand that Ihumātao is the site of the oldest known human settlement in Auckland
and contains urupā (burial sites) and other evidence of early human occupation.
In the late 1990s the former Manukau City Council, Auckland Regional Authority, and the
Department of Conservation sought to protect the historic site. They paid a combined sum of
$4.7 million to buy the land from four farming families.
The petitioners told us that the adjacent SHA 62 land should also be treated as a valuable
historical site, just like the Ōtuataua Stonefields. They said the Stonefields, the neighbouring
Council-owned Rennie Block, and SHA 62 should all be protected and treated as one area.
21 Māori land confiscation during and after the New Zealand Wars of the nineteenth century.
13
PETITION OF PANIA NEWTON FOR SAVE OUR UNIQUE LANDSCAPE: PROTECT IHUMĀTAO
In 2007 SHA 62 was included by the Manukau City Council within a wider extension to the
Auckland Metropolitan Urban Limit (MUL). 22 However, SHA 62 was then designated as open
space to preserve it from development. The landowner appealed the designation as open
space, and in 2012 the Environment Court ruled in the landowner’s favour. It was ruled that
the land could be developed as long as there was no damage to valuable features. In 2013
the newly unified Auckland Council decided to reclassify the land as “Future Urban” 23 in the
proposed Auckland Unitary Plan, taking into account the Environment Court ruling.
• to review the status and state of the Ōtuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve
• to take necessary steps to protect the adjacent nine-hectare Rennie Block (which the
petitioners said was rezoned for housing in recent years without mana whenua or
community consultation) as public open space
• to take seriously SOUL’s petition concerning SHA 62 and discuss with the Government
a mandated process that would address the SHA 62 development.
We understand that the council-owned Rennie Homestead Block is being assessed for
inclusion within the reserve for its protection. If it is included in the reserve it will be rezoned
as public open space. 24
22 Auckland’s Metropolitan Urban Limit (MUL) is a zoning restriction that defines the boundary of the urban area
with the rural part of the region.
23 Land located outside the MUL and zoned for future development.
24 Office of the Mayor of Auckland,
http://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2019/06/HER_20190625_AGN_8342_AT_files/HER_201906
25_AGN_8342_AT_Attachment_67795_2.PDF.
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PETITION OF PANIA NEWTON FOR SAVE OUR UNIQUE LANDSCAPE: PROTECT IHUMĀTAO
He wrote that Fletcher Building supports Te Kawerau ā Maki, who he said are the mana
whenua of Ihumātao. He wrote that Fletcher Building has been working in partnership with
the iwi and supports its aspirations for protecting the surrounding area.
We heard from the chief executive that Te Kawerau ā Maki has said publicly that it
acknowledges that other hapū and iwi also have whakapapa or interests in the land.
However, it does not recognise SOUL as speaking on behalf of mana whenua.
He wrote that, as part of a partnership between Fletcher and Te Kawerau ā Maki, Fletcher
returned over a quarter of its 32-hectare land holding to the iwi. He said the land has been
privately owned for the past 150 years and that it was previously unavailable to the iwi. He
believes this is a first for an agreement of this type.
He wrote that the land will be planted with native trees and that there will be an open area
between the new housing and the Ōtuataua Stonefields. He said there will be no
development on the Stonefields.
• forty affordable homes will be available for iwi to purchase, and a pathway-to-ownership
programme will be developed to help iwi into homes
• a Whare Manaaki (visitor centre) will be built to tell the stories of mana whenua and the
settlers
• a protocol and plan will be developed for any archaeological or heritage discovery
• a visitor centre will be built, providing an opportunity to share and celebrate the history
of the Stonefields and the stories of mana whenua; this will include the appointment of
cultural advisors.
We were informed that Fletcher has discussed with local and central government whether
they would consider extending the existing Ōtuataua Stonefields Reserve to include the
disputed land. Fletcher was told there is no need for additional reserve space in this area.
He said that Fletcher Building has not confirmed a start date for the works, but it plans to
begin development soon.
The petitioners said it is ahi kā (continual, long-term occupants of land) who will be left with
very little if the development goes ahead. They said that iwi in the pre-settlement phase
should not be left out of the conversation just because they do not have the same financial
capacity or governing frameworks as other iwi. The petitioners said it is offensive that a
transnational corporation can decide which iwi to engage with and which to ignore.
15
PETITION OF PANIA NEWTON FOR SAVE OUR UNIQUE LANDSCAPE: PROTECT IHUMĀTAO
Waitangi Tribunal
We were informed that in 2015 an application for urgency was filed on behalf of Makaurau
Marae and Ngāti Te Ahiwaru 25 (under the name of the petitioners) in the Waitangi Tribunal.
The urgency application challenged the implementation of the Special Housing Areas Act
2013, stating that a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi had occurred due to a failure to consult
with Māori when Auckland Council designated SHA 62 for development.
The Waitangi Tribunal declined the urgency application in August 2017 on the basis that the
developers were taking steps to avoid damage to taonga at Ihumātao. 26
Environment Court
In November 2018 the Environment Court found that the management plan developed by
Fletcher for the development, which was approved by Heritage New Zealand, provided a
greater level of protection than required for taonga such as kōiwi. The Environment Court
also considered that the housing development could co-exist with the Ōtuataua Stonefields
Historical Reserve. 27
We heard that Ihumātao is situated within the areas of interest for Waikato-Tainui and the
Waiohua iwi, and that Ihumātao is also included in the historical accounts of Ngāti
Tamaoho 29 and Te Kawerau ā Maki. 30
Because SHA 62 is private land, it is not available for Treaty settlement. However, Ihumātao
is acknowledged in several Treaty settlements.
25 The applicants were Haki Wilson, Bobbi-Jo Pihema, Qiane Matata-Sipu, Pania Newton, and Waimarie
McFarland (all are SOUL campaigners).
26 Wai 2547 #2.5.5.
27 NZEnvC214 King v Heritage New Zealand.
28 A section 27B memorial (as outlined in the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986) is a memorial which is placed
on private land that has previously been owned by a state-owned enterprise. This memorial notes that the
Tribunal can recommend the return of that land to Māori. If the Tribunal finds that a claim relating to that land
is well founded, it can make a binding recommendation to the Crown that it purchase the land and return it to
Māori ownership as a way of settling a claim. This process is also known as resumption.
29 Ngāti Tamaoho Claims Settlement Act 2017.
30 Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Act 2015.
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PETITION OF PANIA NEWTON FOR SAVE OUR UNIQUE LANDSCAPE: PROTECT IHUMĀTAO
In the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu settlement, 31 the Crown acknowledged that land at Ihumātao
was confiscated under the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863, and apologised to Waikato-
Tainui as part of its Treaty of Waitangi settlement. 32
Te Ākitai Waiohua has been offered a statutory acknowledgement over Ōtuataua Stonefields
Historic Reserve in the Agreement in Principle between the Crown and Te Ākitai Waiohua.
The Crown and Te Ākitai Waiohua are working towards signing a deed of settlement in late
2019.
The remaining iwi who are yet to enter negotiations and settle any historical Treaty of
Waitangi claims in the Ihumātao area are Waikato-Tainui (non-raupatu claims only) and
Ngāti Te Ata. We were informed that, when these iwi have settled, all historical claims in the
Ihumātao area will have been settled.
• the Lottery Grants Board, 34 through the Environment and Heritage Fund, Significant
Projects Fund, Oranga Marae Fund, or Minister’s Discretionary Fund
• Regional Arts and Culture Fund
• Auckland Council Built Heritage Acquisition Fund
• Heritage EQUIP funding
• Auckland International Airport share revenue
• Philanthropic sources
• Iwi investment funds.
31 Note Te Ākitai Waiohua, Ngāti waiohua, Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Te Ata, and Ngāti Tamaoho are also
beneficiaries of the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu settlement.
32 Waikato Raupatu Claims Settlement Act 19951.
33 Beehive, https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/restoration-dunedin-courthouse-begins.
34 Under the Gambling Act 2003, all profits from playing Lotto are used to benefit New Zealand communities.
The New Zealand Lottery Grants Board distributes its profits.
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PETITION OF PANIA NEWTON FOR SAVE OUR UNIQUE LANDSCAPE: PROTECT IHUMĀTAO
We also recognise that there has been a lot of media interest, and that articles about the
SOUL campaign and the disputed land have been published in several national news outlets
such as RNZ, Noted, the New Zealand Herald, and Stuff.
We were informed that, as a result, two UN Special Rapporteurs 35 wrote a report in March
2019 about the specific concerns in relation to Ihumātao, and the broader issue of
construction of housing for commercial sale on traditional land. 36 The report seeks further
information about the situation at Ihumātao. The petitioners told us they understand that the
New Zealand Permanent Mission to the United Nations replied on 16 May 2019 requesting a
three-month extension for its full response. The petitioners said this correspondence shows
that the UN remains alert to the Government’s action or inaction on SHA 62.
We also heard that in 2017 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
recommended Crown action to ensure proper consultation in relation to SHA 62.
Conclusion
In April 2019 some members of this committee visited the SHA 62 site at Ihumātao. The
members recognised the historical significance of the land and the sincere commitment of
the petitioners. We thank the petitioners for welcoming us onto their marae and showing us
around the whenua. We acknowledge the years of hard work from the petitioners, and we
appreciate that they have undertaken an extensive amount of research.
We also acknowledge the situation at SHA 62 is complex. There are competing rights and
interests to the land. Those rights include the right to develop the land as the private owners
see fit. However, we also understand that the petitioners have an interest in preserving this
historically significant site. We urge all stakeholders to work constructively together.
We therefore recommend that the House take careful note of the petitioners’ concerns.
35 Special Rapporteur is a title given to individuals working on behalf of the United Nations who report on
specific countries and/or areas of interest.
36 Palais des Nations,
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=24461.
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PETITION OF PANIA NEWTON FOR SAVE OUR UNIQUE LANDSCAPE: PROTECT IHUMĀTAO
Appendix
Committee procedure
The petition was referred to us on 13 March 2019. We met between 3 April and 24 July 2019
to consider it. We received written evidence from the petitioner, and heard oral evidence
from the petitioner.
Committee members
Rino Tirikatene (Chairperson)
Dan Bidois
Marama Davidson
Joanne Hayes
Matt King (from 22 May 2019)
Adrian Rurawhe
Hon Nicky Wagner
Hon Meka Whaitiri
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