OUCH!

We fell about laughing when we read this bit in the Herald today...

Mr Kruger who is leading the negotiations with the Crown said the politics around ownership should never have surprised Mr Key. Not only did the tribe meet with him to discuss it but the PM is the also the chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations.
That's the committee which vets proposals before it goes to a full cabinet meeting.The last time the deal was put to the committee was in mid-March, he said.
"In that proposal is ownership [of Te Urewera] - what, you're the chair and you've never heard of this before?
"We had our one go up twice and get the big tick.

"Well, either he doesn't read his minutes ... some of my marae committee members are like that. You know, when I have a hapu hui some of my uncles and aunties don't bother read the minutes they just tell me to hurry up so they can get to the biscuits and tea

It is a very fine example of a Maori put down.  However we think that Kruger  is playing a dangerous game and at the end of the day this government offers them the best chance at a decent and speedy resolution to their grieveances.

Now even Ngai Tahu didnt get all it wanted in the settlement. We, in the south, wanted Codfish Island. But there was no way that the Government of the day was going to give one of the great conservation jewels to the tribe. We got the windswept and barren Centre Island instead and incidently the Foreshore and seabed around it.

So its in Tuhoe's best interests now that they have had their bit of fun to get back to negotiating a deal with National.


Krugers comments remind me of one of the great and subtle Minsterial kneecapping I was ever party to.

This particular Minister arrived on the Marae for a meeting with the tribal elders. The Upopko ( chief ) was a wily bugger ..

Anyway he sat and listened to the Minister go on and on and on about what he wanted and what he would do and what he wouldn't do. He was on transmit only.  We were really embarrassed.

The chief just sat there and at the end of the Ministers diatribe he turned to me and gave me a subtle  wink.

Then he  stood and said to the Minister...


" Thank you for taking the time to come and visit us and tell us your thoughts. I have seen the man many times on TV and  it is nice to finally  meet the boy."

I could barely contain myself - the Minister just blithely carried on yabbering, unaware that he had been slighted.  The chief gave me another sly wink.

Poetry it was  - poetry.

WHITE MEN DON'T ROAST.

We think that John Keys attempt at  humour  by suggesting that he was likely to end up as part of menu if he was  dining with Tuhoe was funny. It came on the back of his unilateral decision to publicly state that Tuhoe would not get ownership of the Urewera National Park.

It's the sort of  self effacing humour that is so common among Maori - its  a part of  their verbal diet.

However we can also understand why Tuhoe didn't see the funny side of it. Its because Key chomped on their mana over the ownership of the Ureweras. So  Key's statement give them a springboard to   express outrage and hurt at the allusion they were cannibals.

We think Key  had no choice re the Park ownership. however he could have done it with a little bit more sensitivity.

We think  Co- management would have been a fine option  but the reality is that  if Tuhoe did not sign the Treaty, its hard to see how they can claim a treaty breach.

That being said they have been seriously dicked by the Government over the years. 

And as one Maori strategist suggested  to Roarprawn today -  the   " Tuhoe will not get their mitts on Urewera " declaration by Key had really come about because Tuhoe got all skitey about the ownership of the Park being  a go-er.

They over egged the issue and it became a source of real concern to middle New Zealand before both sides had a chance to sell the idea to the public.

So in reality the only thing that Tuhoe should be eating is humble pie for being loud mouth big swinging dicks.

If they had shut up,  they could have ended up with ownership  of the Park,  with the proviso that there would be full and unfettered rights of access to  the NZ   public  and  continued management by DOC and the tribe.

Sadly now because of their big gobs  - its not a runner.

SANITY BY CULLEN

Excellent stuff. John Key give Cullen a job and the bugger rewards him with a good idea that is likely to take the heat out of one of the most controversial pieces of legislation affecting this country's race relations.

What many people don't know is that unlike Clark, Cullen is very highly regarded in Maoridom after his pragmatic get down to business approach over a number of high profile Treaty claims. So this move will increase his mana. However the cynic could suggest that this move by Cullen is just a ploy to ensure a continuing and lucrative career in Treaty negotiations withy his new best brown friends.

TREATY SETTLEMENT TENSIONS

This issue on Stuff this morning has the capacity to ignite racial tensions.

We think that this precedent will unnerve the nation as it sets about debating the Foreshore and Seabed legislation.

Ngai Tahu own the Lake Ellesmere lake bed as part of the Ngai Tahu settlement.
They are taxing the eel fishers 8% of the value of the catch which is $360,000 for conservation of the lake. The fishers are also paying to lease eel quota from Ngai Tahu. We think it is a recipe for disaster.

We have some sympathy for Ngai Tahu as the owners they now have responsibilities to maintain their " asset." While we agree that the ownership of the lake bed formed part of the settlement, we just dont think that a regime like this was ever envisaged.

If Ngai Tahu manages the ecological values of the lake bed what is DOC's responsibility re the water and surrounding environs and is Ngai Tahu going to tax farmers for the cost of the damage that run off has caused to the lake and the lake bed??

However Eel fishermen like all fishermen need to recognise that the right to fish comes with responsibilities and that they should be contributing to the ecological upkeep of the lake.

But what are they getting for their $29,000?

Are farmers next?


However it should be noted that Lake Taupo's Tuwharetoa, derives income from Trout fishing permits in Lake Taupo. They own the lake bed and get 50% of the licence fees.

What is interesting here is they are getting money for the recreational harvest of a non native species Trout.

Ngai Tahu is extracting 8% from fishermen who are already paying to lease quota of a native species of which DOC has a responsibility to manage as well.

And we know our wise friend at SEAFIC doesn't scare easy. Nici Gibbs says that fishing rights and interests were not protected when the deal was done.

In a briefing paper to the Lake Ellesmere fishermen, Seafood Industry Council policy manager Nici Gibbs described the situation as "very scary".

She said the Crown, in dealing with foreshore and seabed-type issues, had failed to protect fishing industry rights and interests when settling Maori grievances.

We agree. One of the key principles of Treaty settlements has been that they be established without impacting on commercial interests or creating further grievances.

It appears that this has not happened.

UPDATE : the Christchurch Press has more background here


UPDATE 2 Lambcut seems to think we know feck all about things agrarian. Thats true. So here's what she says:

LAMBCUT said...

LAMBS WITH GUNS; RUN PRAWN RUN

Lambcut thinks BB could be in danger of divisive scaremongering herself by stating farmers have caused run off damage to the Ellesmere Lake and lake bed. Lambcut is not aware of any intensive farming systems operating in the Banks Peninsula area that could cause significant run off problems. The land there is extensively farmed by topographical and climatic necessity; it cannot lend itself to intensive systems. Furthermore, due to the high conservation value placed on the area, there are generous riparian margins around the waterways there. Even in other regions where intensive systems are employed, such generous margins greatly reduce the possibility of significant run off damage occurring.