Kua tukuna e te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti o Waitangi tana Pūrongo mō te Whakaaetanga Whānui me te Raupapa mō te Rangapū Mahi Tahi Moana-nui-a-Kiwa i roto i te hōputu whakaputanga hukihuki. Koinei te wāhanga whakamutunga o tētahi ruku tātari i tīmata i te tau 2016 ki ngā kerēme e pā ana ki te Whakaaetanga Mahi Tahi Rangapū Moana-nui-a-Kiwa.
I te tīmatanga, kei roto i ngā take mō tēnei wāhanga whakamutunga o te ruku tātari ko te whakapāpā a te Karauna ki ngāi Māori e pā ana ki te Whakaaetanga Mahi Tahi Rangapū Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (TPPA) me te Whakaaetanga Whānui me te Raupapa mō te Rangapū Mahi Tahi Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (CPTPP), me te toropuku o aua hui whakawhiti kōrero. I whakatatūhia ngā take whakapāpā me te toropuku mā te hui takawaenga, me te aha, i waho i te hōkaitanga o tēnei wāhanga o te ruku tātari.
E hāngai ana te take whakamutunga ki ngā whakaritenga arumoni tuihono o te CPTPP me te mana raraunga. Ko te pātai e uruparehia ana i roto i tēnei pūrongo:
He aha ngā āhuatanga (mēnā he āhuatanga) o te upoko arumoni tuihono o te CPTPP e hārakiraki ana ki ngā haepapatanga o te Karauna i raro i te Tiriti?
Ko te otinga o te Taraipiunara he hira ngā tūraru ki ngā pānga Māori e puta mai ana i ngā whakaritenga arumoni tuihono, ā, kāore e tutuki ana te haepapa whakahaumaru hohe o te Karauna i te whakawhirinakitanga ki ngā aweretanga me ngā aukatinga kia whakamauru i taua tūraru. Nā reira, ka whakatau te Taraipiunara kua kore i tutuki i te Karauna te paerewa whakahaumaru hohe o te Tiriti, ā, nā tēnei mūhore i takahi i ngā mātāpono Tiriti o te rangapū me te whakahaumaru hohe.
Ka puta tēnei takahi hei hua o te ara i whakatau ai te Karauna i tana mana kōwhiri ī-tauhokohoko mō te TPPA/CPTPP. Ko te pūtake o tēnei ko te whakapūmau i te ritetanga ki ngā whakaritenga kaupapahere ā-motu onāianei me ngā whakaaetanga ā-ao o mua. Ki tā te aromatawai a te Taraipiunara, kāore i te rawaka tēnei tūnga hohe, hohe-iti rānei nā te mea he nui ngā hīraunga o te mana whakahaere o te rohe matihiko mō te taonga e mōhiotia ana hei mātauranga Māori. Nā te mea, kei te iho o te tuakiri Māori, ehara te mātauranga Māori i te pānga, te whai whakaarotanga rānei e ngāwari ana ki tētahi tūmomo mahi hangarite ina whakaritea ki ētahi atu whāinga hokohoko, ki ngā pānga rānei o ētahi atu kirirarau, rāngai rānei. Ko te otinga hoki o te Taraipiunara ehara tēnei i te take kia whakataua motuhaketia e te Karauna.
Heoi anō, e mārama ana te Taraipiunara kāore e taea te whakatatū e ngāi Māori anake ngā take o te mana raraunga me te whakahaumaru o te mātauranga Māori i roto i te rohe matihiko. I te tuatahi ko te taumata tika mō te whakahaumarutanga o te mātauranga Māori i roto i ngā whakaaetanga hokohoko ā-ao, me te mana whakahaere whānui o te rohe matihiko, he take mō te kōrerorero i waenga i ngā hoa rangapū Tiriti. Mēnā e hiahiatia ana te āhuatanga tuku, te panoni rānei ina whai whakaaro ana ki ngā mea e āhei ana i roto i ngā hui whakawhiti kōrero ā-ao, he kaupapa ēnei mō te kōrerorero ngākau pono i waenga i te Karauna me ngāi Māori.
Nō te kitenga o te Taraipiunara i te takahi Tiriti me te whakahāweatanga, ka whai whakaaro he aha ngā tūtohu (mēnā he tūtohu) māna hei whakamauru, hei whakakore rānei i te whakahāweatanga, hei aukati rānei i ētahi atu kia pāngia pērātia ā muri atu. Ka whakatau te Taraipiunara kāore e tika ana kia tuku tūtohu i roto i ngā āhuatanga whāiti o tēnei kaupapa.
Nā te mea, i roto i ngā tau e rima kua hipa i te tīmatanga o tēnei ruku tātari, kua tino panoni te tūnga o te Karauna hei urupare ki ngā kerēme. Ka whakaata tēnei panoni i te kaupapahere kāwanatanga e kuneroa ana, e whakaatahia ana i roto i ngā mahi inakuanei kia whakawhanake i te urupare kāwanatanga katoa (Te Pae Tawhiti) ki te pūrongo Ko Aotearoa Tēnei (Wai 262). Waihoki, e whakaata ana i te kaupapahere me te whanaketanga a te kāwanatanga hei urupare ki te pūrongo a te Poari Tohutohu Trade for All. E āhei ana te Karauna me ngā kaikerēme ki te whakatatū, mā ngā hui takawaenga, i ngā āwangawanga e pā ana ki te whakapāpā me te toropuku. Ki te Taraipiunara he take hira kia okioki me te āta whakaaro he aha ngā tūtohu māna (mēnā he tūtohu) e unu ai, e whakamauru ai rānei i te whakahāweatanga mā ngā ara kāore anō kia tutuki hei hua o ngā takohanga me ngā hātepe kua tīmata kē. Kei roto i aua hātepe ko te mahi a tētahi rōpū tohutohu e mōhiotia ana hei Te Taumata, i whakatūria i muri iho i te tuku a te Taraipiunara i tana pūrongo tuatahi i te tau 2016, ā, nō nā tata nei, te whakatūranga o Ngā Toki Whakarururanga hei hua o te whakaaetanga takawaenga.
Ka mutu ana te āta whakaaroaro ki te whakaoranga i kimihia e ngā kaikerēme, ka kore te Taraipiunara i tūtohu kia whakatārewatia ngā hui whakawhiti kōrero arumoni tuihono i mua i te hoahoa i te anga whaitake, tika rānei. I whakaae te Taraipiunara ki te Poari Tohutohu Trade for All e hiahiatia ana tētahi arotake matawhānui o ngā whakaritenga kaupapahere whānui atu o Aotearoa e pāpā ana ki te tauhokohoko matihiko, ā, i tēnei wā tonu, me kaua te kāwanatanga e whakaū i te motu nei ki ngā tūnga whakawhiti kōrero totoka. E mea ana te Taraipiunara kua whakaaetia e te Karauna tēnei tūtohutanga, ā, kua tīmata te arotake me te whai wāhi mai o Te Taumata me Ngā Toki Whakarururanga. Waihoki, i whakaaro te Taraipiunara hei tohu pea te whakaaetanga ā-mātāpono i waenga i Piritānia me Aotearoa i whakaaetia inakuanei, e whakaurua ai he upoko mō te hokohoko iwi taketake ki roto, te kaupapa e āhei ana ahakoa kāore anō ngā hui whakawhiti kōrero ā-ao kia whakatokahia.
E mōhio ana te Taraipiunara he wero kei mua. Heoi anō, hei tāna me waiho ēnei kaupapa kia whakawhitiwhitia me te kōrerorerotia i waenga i ngā hoa rangapū Tiriti i runga i te ngākaupono i roto i ngā wānanga me ngā hātepe kua whakaritea kētia.
E wātea ana te Pūrongo mō te Whakaaetanga Whānui me te Raupapa mō te Rangapū Mahi Tahi Moana-nui-a-Kiwakia tīkina ake:
Mō ngā pakirehua arapāho katoa, tēnā whakapā atu ki Paul Easton i runga i 027 276 9810 paul.easton@justice.govt.nz rānei.
The Report on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
Wai 2522 - The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (Reid and others) Claim
The Waitangi Tribunal has released The Report on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, concluding the inquiry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) which has proceeded over three stages.
The inquiry panel comprised Judge Michael Doogan (presiding officer), David Cochrane, Professor Susy Frankel, Tā Hirini Moko Mead, Kim Ngarimu, and Tania Simpson. Hearings were held at the Waitangi Tribunal’s hearing room in Wellington from 17 to 19 November 2020.
Originally, stage 3 of the inquiry included issues relating to engagement, secrecy, and data sovereignty. The issues of engagement and secrecy were resolved through mediation and, as a result, the majority of claims were withdrawn. The two remaining claims contained pleadings relevant to the remaining issue; data sovereignty. As such, the report asks one question: What (if any) aspects of the e-commerce chapter of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership are inconsistent with the Crown’s obligations under te Tiriti/the Treaty?
The Tribunal concluded that the risk to Māori interests arising from the electronic commerce (e-commerce) provisions are significant and that reliance on exceptions and exclusions in the agreement to mitigate that risk falls short of the Crown’s duty of active protection. As a result, the Tribunal found that the Crown has failed to meet the Tiriti/Treaty standard of active protection and that this failure constitutes a breach of the Tiriti/Treaty principles of partnership and active protection.
Having found Tiriti/Treaty breach, the Tribunal came to the conclusion that it would not be appropriate to make recommendations in the circumstances of this case. This is largely because, over the five years since the inquiry began, a significant shift in the Crown’s position in response to claims has ocurred and a number of processes are underway, or in place, to address concerns. Additionally, the resolution of issues relating to engagement and secrecy through mediation gave the Tribunal significant reason to pause and think carefully about what (if any) recommendations it could make that would remove or mitigate prejudice in ways not already addressed as a result of commitments or processes already underway.
Having considered the relief sought by the claimants, the Tribunal declined to recommend that further e-commerce negotiations be suspended until an effective or proper regime had been designed. The Tribunal agreed with the Trade for All Advisory Board that there is a need for a comprehensive review of Aotearoa New Zealand’s policy and that, until such review is carried out, the Government should avoid locking the country into any fixed negotiating positions. It is the Tribunal’s understanding that the Crown has accepted this recommendation and the review, which engages Te Taumata and Ngā Toki Whakarururanga, is currently underway. The Tribunal also saw the recently announced Agreement in Principle between the United Kingdom and New Zealand, which will include a chapter on indigenous trade, as indicative of what is possible without freezing international negotiations altogether.
Overall, the Tribunal acknowledged there will be challenges ahead. However, it described these matters as best left for negotiation and dialogue between the Tiriti/Treaty partners in good faith and within the fora and processes now in place.