Latest news with #MaramaRoyal
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Reviewers of legislation Treaty clauses expected to report back in months
Justice and Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The reviewers of all Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation include three lawyers and a director, and will be expected to report back "within months". New Zealand First secured the commitment to a comprehensive review of all legislation (except when it is related to, or substantive to, existing full and final Treaty settlements) that includes "The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and replace all such references with specific words relating to the relevance and application of the Treaty, or repeal the references" in its coalition deal with National. The creation of the group has been led by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who is also the Treaty Negotiations Minister. His office confirmed former Waitangi Tribunal member David Cochrane would chair the review group, which also includes Marama Royal, James Christmas and John Walters. They would be "reporting back in the next few months". Cochrane is a Wellington-based lawyer who has been practising public and commercial law since the 1980s, has worked on the Parliamentary Counsel which drafts legislation, and has been a member of the Law Society's Reform Committee and the Legislation Advisory Committee. Royal (Ngāti Whātua ki Tāmaki) is a former public servant and chairs - or is a member of - several boards including Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust, Pou Take Āhuarangi under the National Iwi Chairs Forum, the Variety children's charity, Sky City Community Trust and several Māori or community trusts. She previously worked for the Courts and Ministry of Justice, and was last year named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Marama Royal. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Christmas is a lawyer and former senior advisor to then-Attorney General Christopher Finlayson, who was also Treaty Negotiations Minister in the John Key government. He also advised Sir John and his successor as Prime Minister, Sir Bill English. Christmas stood for National as a list-only candidate at 28th in 2023, missing out on a seat in Parliament partly as a result of the party's success in electorate races. John Walters is a founding partner at his law firm Walters Law, specialising in property, commercial and trust law, serving clients including large corporates and businesses, Māori Trusts and iwi, and acted as a Treaty claims negotiator for his iwi Te Aupōuri. In a report based on hearings in early May last year on the proposed review, alongside its consideration of the Treaty Principles Bill, the Waitangi Tribunal said the outcomes of the review were pre-determined and the Crown had not acted in good faith by failing to consult with Māori on it. The review would likely remove or narrow Treaty clauses in the law, the Tribunal said, impacting Māori rights and breaching the principles of partnership, active protection, equity, redress, good government and the article 2 guarantee of rangatiratanga. The Tribunal recommended putting the review on hold until it could be reconceptualised through collaboration with Māori. The review will examine about 28 pieces of legislation dating back to 1986. New Zealand First's 2023 election manifesto included no mention of the Treaty, but the party has a long-standing view that the Treaty was what first formed New Zealand as a nation, but it does not have principles - and to try to define principles will not push the country forward. During a media conference last Monday, Goldsmith said the review was underway and a panel had been appointed to give initial advice. "There's about 20 pieces of legislation that we're looking at... over years we've developed a whole lot of references, a wide variety of phrases that have been interpreted very broadly by some government departments and other places. And so we want to be clearer about what we do, and what we don't mean." NZ First leader Winston Peters interjected that, "if they should be there they'll be there, and if they shouldn't be there they won't be there". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
31-05-2025
- Business
- 1News
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei tells iwi wanting to invest to ‘come through the front door first'
Central Auckland hapū Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei is sending a clear message to iwi that want to invest within its rohe or tribal territory to "come through the front door" first. The hapū has endured significant loss throughout its history of colonisation and was rendered to a quarter acre section by 1855. It's now rebuilding its estate, with over 160 hectares of commercial and cultural land in its portfolio, and a total asset base worth $1.5 billion. But Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust deputy chairman Ngarimu Blair said it was disappointing to see iwi based outside of Auckland investing in the city without meeting with them first. "If a Ngāpuhi buys a house, pai ana (all good), but if the iwi entity invests here under traditional leadership structures then we expect our tikanga to be followed," he said. ADVERTISEMENT "Being tūturu Māori is when you go into a tribal district as manuhiri (visitors), you seek out the local home people to acknowledge them as the host, and build a relationship with them. That's all we ask." But that had not always occurred. "Not all of them have come through the front door and we have a list of them," Blair said. Among them was Ngāi Tahu, an iwi based in the South Island, that opened the All Blacks Experience at Sky City in 2020 and purchased property at Onekiritea, Hobsonville. "They made amends for that, have left town, and they've said when they come back they will come to the marae," he said. "We are actually holding on to a taonga that they brought with them for safekeeping so that when they do come back, we have that pounamu in our meeting house, and we will reignite that relationship." Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust deputy chairman Ngarimu Blair. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT Ngāi Tahu Holdings chief executive Todd Moyle acknowledged mistakes had been made. "In recent years, we have been working closer with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, which is an improvement on years gone by," he said. "We acknowledge there were instances in the past where Ngāi Tahu Holdings did not engage appropriately, and we appreciate the willingness of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to work with us to address these issues. "We value our current strong relationship and look forward to future opportunities for collaboration and partnership." But the hapū's northern neighbour, Ngāpuhi, could be next to invest in Auckland when it eventually settles. Penetaui Kleskovic, who affiliates to the tribe, certainly hopes so. "Once we get the economic endowment, we need to look towards Auckland, and the tribes in Auckland will say, 'Ngāpuhi has no legit claim there', but they do," he said. ADVERTISEMENT "If I have discussions with the Crown negotiators, I'll say to them, 'We want all of the remaining assets on the Crown's balance sheet within the Auckland area'." Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust chairwoman Marama Royal said the hapū was very protected of its rohe. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust chairwoman Marama Royal. (Source: 1News) "That's not because we don't want to share, it's because no one has endured the losses we have in a place like Auckland," she said. "For us, the protection of this, and the fact we have had to purchase back everything we have, sends a clear signal that we are here to stay, and we are the true ahi kā of central Tāmaki. "All we've asked is that they have the courtesy to come through the front door, not the back door – it's as simple as that."
