Our Treaty Settlement Journey

 

At no time in our engagement with the Crown has there been a relationship based on the terms or the spirit of Te Tiriti. There is no partnership and sometimes barely even a relationship. Where there has been a relationship we have been relegated to the role of rebels, Hauhau, petitioners, submitters and objectors rather than Tiriti partners

– Sir Archie Taiaroa to the Waitangi Tribunal

STAGE ONE: 

Pre-negotiation (Completed)
  • Mandating process – the claimants vote on the entity that will represent them in negotiations
  • Signing the Deed of Mandate – the Crown must recognise the mandate before negotiations begin
  • Choosing negotiators – the mandated group decides which individuals will lead its negotiations 
  • Signing Terms of Negotiation – between the Crown and the mandated representatives 

 

STAGE TWO:

Negotiation
  • We have now signed our  Agreement in Principle (AIP) – view this here
  • Ratification process – voting on the Post-Settlement Governance Entity (PSGE)
  • Initialling a Deed of Settlement (iDOS) – the draft content of the settlement
  • Ratification process – voting on the proposed Deed of Settlement.

STAGE THREE:

Legislation

If ‘sufficient support’ is received, the settlement goes through the law-making process. The process is:

  • The settlement is introduced to Parliament as a Bill.
  • The Bill goes to the Māori Affairs Select Committee and is open for public submissions
  • The Bill goes through the Second and Third Readings in Parliament, and receives the Royal Assent, becoming law (the Settlement Act)
  • The claimant group receives a letter confirming that the settlement has been made law and is complete

STAGE FOUR:

Implementation

NHIT and the Crown work together to ensure the settlement comes to light, including by:

  • Final steps in the set-up of the Post-Settlement Governance Entity (PSGE) and Trust Deed, and the election of trustees (usually while the legislation stage is underway)
  • The redress package is transferred to the PSGE within an agreed amount of time, usually 40 working days after the settlement becomes law
  • All other arrangements detailed in the agreement are implemented