Wairarapa ki Tararua District Inquiry

Wai 863

Inquiry District

The Wairarapa ki Tararua inquiry district covers the area from the Manawatu Gorge down the ranges to the South Wairarapa coast, up the Pacific coast to north of Cape Turnagain following the Tararua District council boundary to north of Norsewood and down the Ruahine Ranges to the Gorge.

Hearings and Tribunal Members

Nine weeks of hearings occurred between March 2004 and March 2005. Wairarapa ki Tararua Tribunal members Judge Carrie Wainwright (presiding), Professor Wharehuia Milroy, Dr Ranganui Walker, and Dame Margaret Bazley heard evidence and submissions on a total of 17 claims filed by members of Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne hapū and other claimant groups.

Claims Issues

The Tribunal grouped the issues raised in the 17 statements of claim into six main divisions:

1. The relationship between Crown and Māori from 1840 to 1865 with particular emphasis on the pre-1865 Crown purchases.
2. The relationship between Crown and Māori from 1865 to 1900, with particular emphasis on native land laws, the Native Land Court, Crown and private purchases, and the political responses of Māori to these matters.
3. Non-agrarian resources and the environment, with a particular emphasis on the Wairarapa moana (Lakes Wairarapa and Onoke/Ferry), rivers, the foreshore and seabed, and environmental management and degradation.
4. The loss of land and resources in the twentieth century, with a particular emphasis on the impact of that loss and the question of what was ‘sufficient’.
5. The management of heritage sites of cultural significance, the environment, the coast, and the taking of land for public purposes, whether by central or local authorities.
6. Issues specific to particular groups and whānau not covered in items 1 to 5.

The Report-Writing Phase

With the hearing phase completed and final closing submissions filed in June 2005, the Tribunal is focused on the report-writing phase of the inquiry. This involves the Tribunal considering all of the evidence and submissions produced for the inquiry and reporting in writing to the claimant community and the Crown on any findings and recommendations concerning the 17 statements of claim.

In July 2009, the Wairarapa ki Tararua panel released its public works chapter in advance of the main body of its report. This was to assist claimants and the Crown in negotiations concerning the return of the former Ōkautete School buildings situated near Homewood in the eastern Wairarapa. The Tribunal recommended that, having properly given back the Ōkautete School site to the local Māori community, the Crown should also give them the school buildings and schoolhouse located on the site. The advanced release also highlighted the panel’s broader finding that public works legislation should be changed to forbid the compulsory acquisition of Māori land in all but the most extreme situations. The Tribunal encouraged the Government to heed this finding in its review of aspects of public works procedures and legislation.

For further information, contact the Waitangi Tribunal’s registrar or the Wairarapa ki Tararua inquiry facilitator.