Rhetoric Versus Reality: Sovereignty and Tino Rangatiratanga in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

The New Zealand Government created the Waitangi Tribunal in 1975 to hear Maori grievances in breach of the Treaty of Waitangi. Due to the creation of the Waitangi Tribunal, 1975 is perceived to be a watershed year in terms of Maori Government relationships. The literature relating to the Waitangi Tribunal purports that attitudes of the Aotearoa New Zealand public towards sovereignty and/or tino rangatiratanga, the Treaty of Waitangi, and ethnic relations have changed since 1975. This study looks at the historical relationships between Maori and tauiwi and evaluates whether or not attitudes towards this relationship have changed with the creation of the Waitangi Tribunal. Assumptions made about ethnic relationships and the effect of the Waitangi Tribunal on them are challenged through a robust testing by survey and interview of Maori and tauiwi. The research underlying this study is divided into two parts. First, there is a case study of the Taranaki Claim. The case study focuses on the impact that the claims settlement process has had on hapu and iwi organisational structure and how this has affected the mana and rangatiratanga of the iwi of Taranaki. The study shows that the claims settlement process has had a vast impact on iwi organisation with a shift in iwi structures from a government sponsored trust board to independently created iwi authorities in Northern Taranaki. The second aspect of the study involves a random survey of 1000 Aotearoa New Zealand households. The survey probes into the knowledge base of ordinary New Zealanders and attempts to determine not only what they know about the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Waitangi, the Waitangi Tribunal and the Office of Treaty Settlements, but uses a series of Lickert scaled questions to determine the range of attitudes that exist concerning these subjects. The survey shows that assumptions made about the claims settlement process, most notably that it has increased people's knowledge of sovereignty and/or tino rangatiratanga issues, the Treaty of Waitangi, and ethnic relations, are incorrect. The results of the research show the disparity between what New Zealanders perceive the work of the Waitangi Tribunal and the claims settlement process to be and the actual work undertaken by individuals involved in the process. The study indicates that the Government has not effectively educated the Aotearoa New Zealand population to understand the claims settlement process. By not educating the population of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Government undermines the claims settlement process and its own aims for the process to reconcile ethnic tensions. Ultimately, the data shows that creation of the Waitangi Tribunal has not increased the public's knowledge of ethnic relations or alleviated ethnic tensions in Aotearoa New Zealand.