I whakaputaina te pūrongo hou rawa o te Rōpu Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi Pūrongo mō Whakatika ki Runga, he Ruku Tātari Iti e Tīmata ana i Te Rau o te Tika: Te Ruku Tātari mō te Pūnaha Manatikai tēnei rā i te hōputu i mua i te whakaputanga. Ko te otinga i roto i takahi te Karauna i tana haepapa Tiriti kia whakatūturu e whai ana ngā kaikerēme Māori i ngā rauemi e hiahiatia ana kia tino whai wāhi atu ki ngā tukanga katoa a te Taraipiunara. I te kimi ngā kaikerēme i te rongoā mō ētahi tau, tae atu ki tētahi ruku tātari ohotata. Nāwai rā, ka tū ngā nohoanga i te wāhanga tuarua o 2022 hei wāhanga o te ruku tātari ki te pūnaha manatika i waihanga houtia, e mōhiotia ana ki te ingoa Te Rau o te Tika. Ka whakapae ngā kaikerēme nā te kore pūtea i kore ai rātou e āhei te tuku me te whai i ō rātou kerēme ki Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi, ā, e whakararuhia ana tēnei rōpū hei pou o te turepapa o Aotearoa.
Ka rongo te Taraipiunara i ngā kaikerēme i roto i ngā kerēme e 53 he aha te take kāore ngā whakaritenga mō ngā kaikerēme pūtea e whai hua nei, ā, kāore e whakatutuki ana i ngā paerewa Tiriti. Neke atu i ngā kaiwhakaatu 40 i karangahia e ngā rōia kaikerēme, he tokomaha rātou i kī nā te takarepa o ngā whakaritenga pūtea i pā mai te taumahatanga me te āwangawanga, ā, i whakapāhunutia te whai wāhi atu.
Ka karanga te Karauna i ngā kaiwhakaatu 11 nō ngā tari kāwanatanga motuhake e waru. I whakamārama ō rātou taunakitanga i te tirohanga o tēnā tari kāwanatanga, o tēnā tari kāwanatanga e whakahaeretia ana i roto i ngā ruku tātari ā-kaupapa e waru. (Ko ngā ruku tātari ā-kaupapa te ingoa mō ngā ruku tātari e arotahi ana ki ngā wāhi kaupapa o te hiranga ā-motu pērā i ngā ratonga hauora me te pūnaha manatika.) Ka whakaae te Karauna tērā ētahi raruraru ki ngā whakaritenga pūtea onāianei engari he pai noa iho i raro i te Tiriti.
Kāore te Taraipiunara i whakaae ki te whakaahuanga o te Karauna i ngā raruraru. Ka āta tuhia i roto i tana pūrongo ngā hē huhua i roto i ngā whakaritenga pūtea tene onāianei. I te tino āwangawanga te Taraipiunara i mōhio ngā āpiha ki ngā takarepatanga engari kāore ngā Minita i whai i ā rātou tohutohu. Ka kī te Taraipiunara, ki te kore te Karauna e tuku rauemi tika kia whai wāhi te Māori ki ana ruku tātari, e tino whakararuhia ana te take o te Taraipiunara. Ka riro mā te Karauna, nāna te Taraipiunara i hanga mō 'te tirohanga, me te whakatūturutanga, o ngā mātāpono o te Tiriti o Waitangi', e whakatūturu he ngāwari te āhei a ngā kaikerēme ki ana tukanga, mā te ara hāneanea ā-ahurea. Ki te pērā kāore he take o te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
E ai ki te Taraipiunara he kōhukihuki ināianei kia noho ngātahi te Karauna me ngāi Māori kia hoahoa i ngā whakaritenga pūtea tika. Kāore i te tika, i tēnei takiwā o te kaupapahere e pā atu ana ki ngāi Māori i te nuinga o te wā, kia whakarite te Karauna i tētahi kaupapahere me te waiho i te 'akoako' ki ngā Māori ki te mutunga. E tūtohu ana hoki te Taraipiunara i tētahi tikanga pūtea kotahi tae noa ki te wā e whakaaetia ai ngā whakaritenga wā roa.
I rapu hoki ngā kaikerēme kia utu Te Tāhū o te Ture i ngā tuhinga i whakatakotohia ki te reo Māori kia whakapākehātia. E hiahiatia ana ngā whakapākehātanga nā te mea tērā ētahi kaiwhakauru i roto i te tukanga kāore e taea te pānui i te reo Māori. Ka kī ngā kaikerēme ki te Taraipiunara ehara i a rātou te hē. Ki te hiahia te Taraipiunara i ngā whakamāoritanga, me utu te Tāhū o te Ture. I whakaae te Taraipiunara. He kaha te kī a te Taraipiara me whakaarotau, me tuku pūtea hoki te manatū i tēnei mahi. He mōtika tō ngā kaikerēme me ō rātou rōia kia whakatakoto i ngā tāpaetanga me te taunakitanga ki te reo Māori, ā, me tautoko te Karauna i te whakamahinga o te reo Māori ki te Taraipiunara, ahakoa ā-waha, ā-tuhi rānei. Nā te mea, 40 tau ki muri ko te otinga o te Taraipiunara he taonga te reo Māori i raro i te Tiriti.
Ko ngā mema o te rōpū mō Te Rau o te Tika ko Kaiwhakawā Carrie Wainwright, ko Dr Paul Hamer, ko Dr Ruakere Hond, ko Dr Hana O'Regan.
Pūrongo mō Whakatika ki Runga, he Ruku Tātari Iti e tīmata ana i Te Rau o te Tika: Te Ruku Tātari mō te Pūnaha Manatika – Putanga i mua i te Whakaputanga e wātea ana kia tiki ake hei kōnae PDF:
Mō ngā pakirehua arapāho, tēnā whakapā atu ki te pokapū arapāho o te Tāhū o te Ture(hononga o waho).
Major issues covered
Report on Whakatika ki Runga, a Mini-Inquiry Commencing Te Rau o te Tika: The Justice System Inquiry – Pre-publication Version
Wai 3060, Te Rau o te Tika: the Justice System Kaupapa Inquiry
In April 2022, the Waitangi Tribunal confirmed it would inquire into allegations concerning claimant funding in its jurisdiction as a first step in the newly constituted inquiry into the justice system, Te Rau o te Tika. The inquiry panel comprises Judge Carrie Wainwright (presiding), Dr Paul Hamer, Dr Ruakere Hond, and Dr Hana O’Regan. Their resulting report, Whakatika ki Runga, a Mini-inquiry Commencing Te Rau o te Tika: The Justice System Inquiry, focuses on the following four main issues:
- Whether claimants before the Waitangi Tribunal have a right to funding to enable their full participation.
- Whether the Crown accepts, as a matter of principle, that it has an obligation to fund claimants’ participation.
- The adequacy of the Crown’s ‘lead agency approach’ to funding claimants in kaupapa inquiries.
- The adequacy of legal aid under the Legal Services Act 2011 for claimants in the Waitangi Tribunal.
The Tribunal received 53 claims for the inquiry, and 37 parties were granted interested party status, including the Crown Forestry Rental Trust. Three hearings were held in Porirua and Wellington in July, September, and October 2022. The Tribunal heard from over 40 claimant witnesses, including 11 Crown witnesses from eight separate Government agencies, the former president of the New Zealand Law Society, and the Crown Forestry Rental Trust.
The Tribunal found that the Crown breached its Treaty duty to ensure that Māori claimants have the necessary resources to participate fully in all Waitangi Tribunal processes. It was particularly concerned that officials knew about the inadequacies of the present funding arrangements, but Ministers did not act on their advice.
The Tribunal observed that the unavailability of adequate funding compromises claimants’ ability to make and pursue their Tribunal claims, which undermines the Tribunal as a pillar of New Zealand’s constitution. It reinforced that it is the Crown’s responsibility under the Treaty, and under its own Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, to ensure that claimants can access Tribunal processes easily.
The Tribunal recommended that the Crown and Māori co-design suitable funding arrangements. Until long-term arrangements are agreed, the Tribunal also recommended that the Crown impose a standardised funding protocol for all kaupapa and contemporary inquiries.
The Tribunal further found that claimants and their lawyers have a right to file submissions and evidence in te reo Māori and have them translated into English without cost or inconvenience to them. The Crown and the Waitangi Tribunal Unit must support the use of te reo Māori in the Tribunal, whether orally or in writing.
The Tribunal found that various administrative issues with legal aid in Tribunal proceedings meant that the system falls short in terms of both fairness and the Crown’s Treaty obligations. However, it did not recommend any changes to the Legal Services Act 2011, noting that an examination of legal aid in Aotearoa will form part the wider inquiry and that legal aid provisions in the Tribunal may change as a result of the recommended process of Māori–Crown co-design.
The next phase of the inquiry is Te Tūāpapa o te Tika, which will commence with a series of hui and wānanga in May 2023. This phase will consider how foundational principles of tikanga and justice will be applied in the inquiry. Four Pou Tikanga have been commissioned by the Tribunal to engage with the panel and parties as experts on these matters: Moe Milne, Ruth Smith, Paraone Gloyne, and Rāhui Papa.