New Zealand’s largest iwi Ngāpuhi has doubled its asset base to $104 million over the last decade despite not having received a Treaty settlement – but many of the tribe’s leaders admit it’s still heavily reliant on the Crown.
Over 100 settlements have been signed to date, with a combined value of over $2.7 billion.
Waikato was the first iwi to settle in 1995, followed by Ngāi Tahu three years later.
Their settlements were valued at $170 million at the time, giving them the capital to invest and grow their assets over the last 30 years.
However, there are still 50 groups yet to finalise their own agreements, including Northland-based Ngāpuhi.
“If you have to go to the Crown for every dollar as we currently do, then our development as a people is seriously curtailed,” said Ben Dalton, who affiliates to the tribe.
“If you’re going to develop land in some way, shape or form, you need capital. There’s no development without capital.”
Dalton is also the chairman of Tupu Tonu, a Crown-owned company set up to develop a portfolio of commercial assets for Ngāpuhi when it eventually settles.
“The problem with Ngāpuhi is that we’re not even at the table with the Crown yet,” he said.
Te Rūnanga ā iwi o Ngāpuhi, the tribe’s governing body, has been working hard to generate income and jobs in the meantime.
Chairman Mane Tahere said there was a misunderstanding that those pre-settlement were “at zero”.
“Actually, Te Rūnanga ā iwi o Ngāuhi and our asset-holding company, we’ve been growing for a while, since we had the fisheries settlement.”
Following the 1992 Māori Fisheries Settlement, which was a deal signed by a consortium of iwi around the country, Ngāpuhi became the largest shareholder of the country’s biggest Māori fishing company Moana.
It receives an annual dividend from Moana, which can fluctuate between $300,000 and $1 million.
Ngāpuhi also holds more settlement quota than any other iwi, which it leases out to other companies.
“We don’t have to wait for a settlement. We can continue and carry on and build and grow,” Tahere said.
But Pita Tipene, who affiliates to Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Hine, said the rūnanga was very limited in what it could do for whānau.
“Ngāpuhi’s cash income is very, very low, relative to other iwi, and therefore Te Rūnanga ā iwi o Ngāpuhi has a very small cash quantum in which to help the people,” he said.
“I don’t like comparing the hapū of Ngāpuhi to other iwi like Waikato and Ngāi Tahu but invariably those are the iwi that get dragged into the conversation because they’re doing so well and because they settled so early on.”
Tipene would like Ngāti Hine, which he considers an iwi in its own right, to negotiate its own separate settlement.
“We want to be self-reliant, Ngāpuhi wants to be self-reliant as well – not only as the tribe, but in its component parts. A settlement is really important. Otherwise, it keeps us stuck.”
Hinerangi Himiona, a hapū spokesperson from Ngāpuhi, acknowledged the many disparities across Northland, including the loss of cultural identity.
“We have a large number of our people who don’t know where they come from, or they know they are from somewhere in the north, they think they might be from Ngāpuhi, but they’re craving for more,” she said.
“I think when we’re talking about wealth and wealth distribution, our leaders across the board should be looking closely at that big gap there, between those who know who they are and those who don’t.”
She hopes a Treaty settlement, including any cultural redress, will help close that gap and ultimately support the people of Ngāpuhi to reconnect.
Tipene agrees, saying that should be an important indicator in which Ngāpuhi measures its success moving forward.
“We need to think about how people feel as individuals, as whānau, and the pride they have in belonging to the tribe,” he said.
For Dalton, a settlement couldn’t come sooner.
He thinks it should be worth more than any settlement to date.
“We would push for the absolute maximum possible. At the end of the day, you’re not gonna get anywhere near what the true loss has been.”
He said many factors have led to a delay in reaching the negotiation table, including voices within Ngāpuhi who want to address constitutional issues, before progressing with a deal.
“There’s a section of Ngāpuhi that do not think we should go into a settlement without receiving recognition of sovereignty. And then there are others, who are like, if we just get on with it, and we get into a position of strength, we can resolve those issues over time.
“I am in the camp that wants to get on with it.”
Tahere said a settlement would not be a “silver bullet” to addressing every need, but acknowledged it would assist the iwi to move on.
“I think any kind of financial injection will inevitably go toward a strategy to becoming independent from the Crown,” he said.
“But the settlement process should more help our people to heal. It’s not so much about the quantum.”