Full and Final Settlements by 2014 - Fantasy or Reality? Will the Waitangi Tribunal and Direct Negotiation Processes Settle Historical Treaty Claims by 2014?

Abstract

Māori have been trying to resolve breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi since the signing of the Treaty itself. Governments were slow to address the wrongs committed by their early predecessors and a real effort was not made until 1975 when the Treaty of Waitangi Act was enacted. The Act created the Waitangi Tribunal whose role is to inquiry into claims by Māori against the Crown for breaches of the Treaty. Eventually the Crown set up the Treaty of Waitangi Policy Unit which later became the Office of Treaty Settlements. Many commentators have discussed at length the inadequacies of Crown settlement policies and even how those policies are breaches of the Treaty itself. However this paper focuses on the Government’s goal of settling all historical Treaty claims by 2014 and whether this is possible under the current regimes. This paper examines the Tribunal and direct negotiation processes and identifies factors which delay the progression of settlements in both regimes and recommend ways in which those problems can be addressed. Settling Treaty claims as quickly as possible will benefit Māori and all other New Zealanders. This country cannot move forward as a Nation until it addresses the wrongs of the past.