Flavell Te Ururoa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:641;Page:10905] 
9.  
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
 to the  
Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations 
: He aha ta te Minita ka mahi whai muri i te kupu whakatuturu a te Taraipiunara o Waitangi i te tahi o Here-turi-koka 2007 e kore e taea e ia te tautoko te whakataunga a Te Arawa e ai ki tona ahua o naianei otira ki ta ratau tutohutanga hoki e ki nei hikia mo tetahi wa te whakataunga kei te whakatakotoria e ratau kia puta rano tera ka hua mai i tetahi wananga whakatau aratohu mo te tohatoha i nga whenua ngaherehere a te Karauna? 
[ 
What action is the Minister taking following the Waitangi Tribunal’s definitive statement of 1 August 2000 that it could not endorse the Te Arawa settlement in its current form leading to its recommendation that the proposed settlement be delayed pending the outcome of a forum to decide on high-level guidelines for the allocation of Crown forest lands? 
] 
Hon MARK BURTON (Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations) 
: 
 Ministers are undertaking careful analysis of the report from which that statement comes along with other recent tribunal reports. A key issue in our analysis is the consistency of recommendations and their implications for this settlement and other settlements. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Ma te aha ka taea e nga iwi te whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro me te Karauna i raro i te pono me te tika i runga i nga panui a te Taraipiunara o Waitangi ara he awangawanga ano wa ratau mo te ahua o tenei tono kua tatu a ka taka te ahua o te ngoikore ki runga i era iwi kaore ano kia tatu wa ratau tono a tarewa tonu nga tono i te rohe o Te Puku o te Ika a Maui? 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[How can any iwi negotiate with the Crown in good faith when the Waitangi Tribunal has reported again that “it has grave concerns regarding the potential negative impact of this settlement on overlapping iwi and on the durability of future Central North Island settlements”?] 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: I think as I indicated to the member the complexity of some of the tribunal’s rulings and the apparent in some cases contradictions between them are matters that Ministers are looking at very carefully. But the member’s concern has to be reconciled with the fact that to reach the point that the group in question has reached required it to undertake a process of rigorous mandate acquisition. That mandate was tested not only with its own members but by the High Court and by the tribunal itself and it has been upheld. I say to the member that the reverse of his question is: how would one maintain the confidence of claimants if the Crown turned its back on those who had engaged with it in good-faith negotiation following the tribunal report? 
Dave Hereora 
: Has the Minister received any advice from other claimant groups relating to the recent tribunal reports? 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: The Crown as members may know is actively engaged at various stages with over 20 claimant groups and a number of those have expressed concern recently about any unnecessary delay to their negotiations—particularly those who have been properly mandated to undertake negotiations with the Crown by the people whom they represent. That further I think illustrates the challenge of fairly balancing the legitimate interests of different and complex claims. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
:  
Ka aro ake ia kaore ranei ki nga tohutohu a te Taraipiunara o Waitangi kia kaua te Karauna e tohu ko nga iwi e ngakaunuitia ana e ia ka mutu ko te whakatau whaiti nei i nga hiahia o nga iwi a ka ahatia nga whakautu hei whakatika i nga tikanga whakahaere? 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Will he ignore the advice of the tribunal that the Crown cannot continue to pick favourites and make decisions on tribal interests in isolation; if not how will the response to such advice change the process? 
] 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: Frankly I think the assertion that the Crown picked favourites is incorrect. The Te Arawa Kaihautu Executive Council in the case we are discussing and the people it represents made their own decisions in continuing in direct negotiations as did those iwi and hapu who chose not to participate or to engage in the tribunal process. The Crown has endeavoured to respect each of those decisions: the decisions of those who have chosen to engage directly with the Crown of those who have chosen not to and of those who have chosen to engage with the tribunal. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
:  
Hei ahea ia whakatakoto mai ai i te ture whakatau kereme ki te Whare nei hei kokiri whakamua i te tono o nga Kaihautu o Te Arawa mo nga whenua ngaherehere o te Karauna 51000 heketea te rahi? 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
When is he intending to introduce legislation into the House to advance the settlement with Nga Kaihautu o Te Arawa over the 51000 hectares of Crown forestry lands? 
] 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: The introduction date of any legislation relating to that settlement is yet to be determined.