A Treaty settlement is an agreement between the Crown and Te Rarawa to settle all of our historical claims against the Crown.
Historical claims relate to actions or omissions by the Crown during the 19th and early 20th centuries, but they may include such actions or omissions up to 21 September 1992, (the date of the “Sealord” Fisheries Settlement). Claims based on Crown actions or omissions after this date are known as contemporary claims, and dealt with through separate processes.
A Treaty settlement is usually made up of the following
1. Historical Account, Acknowledgements and Crown Apology The Historical Account provides an outline of historical events that are agreed between the Crown and the claimant group. The Acknowledgements provide the basis for the Crown Apology to the claimant group for its actions or inactions.
2. Cultural Redress Our Cultural redress provides Te Rarawa with a range of mechanisms that aim to: · Safeguard our rights and access to customary food-gathering sources · Provide opportunities for input into the management or control or ownership of sites, areas or customary resources on Crown-owned land with which Te Rarawa has traditional and cultural associations. · Provide opportunities for developing future relationships with government departments in areas of importance to Te Rarawa. · Facilitate the development of future relationships with other agencies, such as local bodies, that play significant roles in the area to which Te Rarawa has traditional and cultural associations · Provide recognition of traditional place-names by facilitating name changes to sites.
3. Financial and Commercial Redress This is made up of an overall quantum or value in dollar terms agreed between the Crown and Te Rarwa in settlement of their historical claims against the Crown. The quantum is taken by Te Rarawa in the form of cash or Crown-owned property or some combination of the two. The combination of cash and property is a matter for Te Rarawa to decide, but also depends on the extent of suitable Crown property holdings within our rohe. Te Rarawa also may receive as part of the financial and commercial redress package a Right of First Refusal (RFR) to purchase certain Crown-owned property within our Rohe. This RFR usually lasts for a specific time-period.
Deed of Settlement The settlement is expressed in detail in a document known as a Deed of Settlement. Legislation is usually required to fully implement the Deed of Settlement. Te Rarawa is still negotiating the details of the Deed of Setttlement.
Settlements are Final As part of the settlement, Te Rarawa accepts that the settlement is fair and final and settles all of our historical claims, whether they have been lodged at the Waitangi Tribunal or not. Both the Crown and Te Rarawa accept that it is not possible to fully compensate the iwi for their grievances. Redress instead focuses on providing redress in recognition of Te Rarawa's historical grievances, on restoring the relationship between Te Rarawa and the Crown, and on contributing to Te Rarawa’s economic development.