Te pūrongo hou o te Rōpū Whakamana i Te Tiriti o Waitangi, He Whenua Karapotia, He Whenua Ngaro:I whakaputaina te Pūrongo Whakaarotau mō Ngā Whenua Māori i Karapotia i te Rohe Ruku Tātari o Taihape i te hōputu i mua i te whakaputanga i tēnei rā. Kei mua tēnei i te pūrongo matua o te Taraipiunara mō te ruku tātari ā-Rohe whānui mō Taihape: Rangitīkei ki Rangipō.
Looking across Ruahine Forest Park toward landlocked Māori land in Te Kōau A during a Tribunal visit to Big Hill Station, February 2020.
He pānga ā-motu tō te whenua karapotia, engari he raruraru tino nui i Taihape. I reira neke atu i te 70 ōrau o ngā whenua Māori e toe ana he whenua karapotia – neke atu i te 50,000 heketea. Kāore e āhei ana ngāi Māori ā-ture, ā-tinana rānei ki ēnei whenua, ahakoa e mau tonu ana i te puritanga o aua whenua. I roto i tana pūrongo, ko te otinga o te Taraipiunara i whakaae te Karauna kia karapotia ngā whenua Māori o Taihape, ā, kua kore e whakatikatika i te raruraru, nā reira, e takahia ai ngā mātāpono Tiriti, me te aha, ka puta te whakahāweatanga wā roa.
Ko te whakakapi o te Taraipiunara nā ngā hapa i roto i te ture whenua Māori o te Karauna i puta mai ai te whenua karapotia i roto i te takiwā o te ruku tātari. I ngā tekau tau i mua i te tau 1912, i te wā i puta mai te nuinga o te whenua karapotia ki Taihape, kāore e herea ana te Kōti Whakawā Whenua Māori e te Karauna kia whakapūmautia te āhei ki te whenua Māori i te wā e wehewehea ana. Nā reira, ka hokona ana, ka rīhitia ana rānei te wehewehenga me te āhei rori, ka karapotia ngā poraka whenua Māori i tua atu. Mai i te tau 1886, ka taea e ngā kaipupuri whenua Māori te tono mō te āhei ki ō rātou whenua i te wā ka uru ki te kōti, i mua rānei i te hipatanga o ngā tau e rima ā muri atu. Heoi anō, kāore ēnei whakaritenga i whaikiko nā te mea ka waiho tonu mā te kōti te kōwhitinga kia whakamana āhei, kāore rānei, ā, ka herea ngā kaipupuri whenua Māori kia utu i te utu tino nui ki te waihanga i tētahi āhei i whakamanahia. Ko te otinga o te Taraipiunara, i takahi te korenga i whānui o tā te Karauna whakatika i te tūraru o te whenua karapotia i roto i tana ture whenua Māori i mua i te tau 1912 i ngā mātāpono Tiriti o te whakahaumaru hohe, te rangapū, me te tautika. Waihoki, i whakahē te kawatau a te Karauna kia tono ngā kaipupuri whenua Māori ki te kōti kia puritia tonutia te āhei ki ō rātou ake whenua, me te utu i ngā utu, i te taurangi Tiriti o te 'full exclusive and undisturbed possession' o te whenua. Ko te whakapae a te Taraipiunara, me kaua i pērā te whakapau kaha a ngāi Māori kia puritia tonutia te āhei, nā te mea i puta mai te tūraru o te karapotitanga i te ture i tukuna i runga i a rātou, kāore i ahu mai i ā rātou mahi.
Ko tētahi atu otinga o te Taraipiunara i hapa, i korekiko hoki ngā mahi a te Karauna kia whakatikahia te whenua Māori i karapotia mā te ture, nā reira, i takahi ai ngā mātāpono Tiriti. Mai i te tau 1912, ka āhei te Kōti Whakawā Whenua Māori (whai muri mai te Kōti Whenua Māori) te whakahau i te āhei hoki whakamuri ki ngā whenua Māori i karapotia. Engari, mēnā kua kore he puritanga Māori i mua i te tau 1913, kāore he mana o te kōti kia whakahau i te āhei, ka pērā anake rānei me te whakaaetanga o te kaipupuri whenua kiritata. Ko te tikanga ia i unu tēnei herenga i roto i te ture te āheinga o te kōti kia whakahoki i te āhei ki ngā whenua Māori i karapotia i Taihape, e tata ana kia karapotia te katoa o te whenua – ina hokona atu ana te whenua e tata ana – i mua i te tau 1913. Nā runga anō i ēnei whakaritenga, neke atu i te ono tekau tau, kāore he ara whakature mā ngāi Māori hei whakawātea i ō rātou whenua. Ka whakaae te Karauna he korekiko ana whakatikahanga i tēnei wa, ā, nā te Karauna i noho whakaarotau ngā pānga o ngā kaipupuri whenua Pākehā, me te aha, i whakataumahatia ngā kaipupuri whenua Māori, nā reira, i takahia ai ngā mātāpono Tiriti.
Ko te otinga o te Taraipiunara, mai i te tau 1975 kua whakamātau te Karauna kia whakapiki i te pai o ana whakatikahanga, engari kua korekiko mō ngā kaipupuri whenua o ngā whenua karapotia i Taihape. Mai i te tau 1975, ka taea e ngā kaipupuri whenua Māori te rapu i te āhei mā te Kōti Mana Nui (ināianei te Kōti Teitei), ā, kāore e herea ana kia whakaaetia e tētahi atu kaipupuri whenua, engari he nui rawa te utu mō te rongoā nei. I te tau 1993, i whakarato te Ture Whenua Māori i te ara iti iho te utu mā ngā kaipupuri whenua Māori kia kimi āhei mā te Kōti Whenua Māori, engari i whakature anō i te herenga kia whiwhi ki te whakaaetanga o te kaipupuri whenua kiritata. I unuhia tēnei herenga i te tau 2002, engari ka taea noa e te kaipupuri whenua kiritata te pīra ki te Kōti Teitei. Mai i te tau 2020, ka taea kia tū ngā nohoanga ki te Kōti Pīra Māori e ngāwari ake ai te whakauru. Ahakoa ēnei panonitanga, kāore anō kia angitu tētahi kaipupuri whenua Māori ki te whakamahi i ēnei whakatikahanga kia whakawāteahia ōna whenua. Ko tētahi otinga o te Taraipiunara i takahi te Karauna i ētahi mātāpono Tiriti, tae atu ki te mātāpono o te puretumu, nā te tūroa o tana korenga i whakarato i ngā whakatikahanga whaitake.
Ko te otinga o te Taraipiunara ko te hapa matua i roto i ngā whakatikahanga o te Karauna ka tuku te utu nui kia whakahoki i te āhei i runga i ngā pokohiwi anō o ngā kaipupuri whenua o ngā whenua Māori i karapotia. I tua atu i te korekiko, kua whakaōrite tēnei ahunga i ngā kaipupuri whenua o te whenua Māori i karapotia ki ngā kaipupuri whenua whānui e rapu ana kia āhei ki ngā whenua i karapotia kua hokona e rātou. Nā runga anō i tēnei, ka takahi ngā whakatikahanga o te Karauna i te mātāpono o te mana tika.
Ko te otinga o te Taraipiunara nā te iti o te āhei ki te nuinga o ō rātou whenua i tino whakahāweatia ai ngā whānau me ngā hapū o te takiwā o Taihape, e whakararu ana i ō rātou kōwhiringa mō te whakawhanaketanga ohaoha, te āheinga ki te tū hei kaitiaki, me te tukunga ihotanga mai i tētahi whakatipuranga ki tētahi whakatipuranga o ngā mātauranga e hāngai ana ki ēnei whenua.
Ka tūtohu te Taraipiunara kia whakatū te Karauna i tētahi pūtea tauwhaiwhai e āhei ai ngā kaipupuri whenua karapotia Māori te tono kia whakatutuki i te āhei hei rongoā mō te whenua karapotia. Ka utu te pūtea i te āhei e whakamanahia ai e te Kōti Whenua Māori, tae atu ki te utu paremata hei utu ki ngā kaipupuri whenua kiritata. E miramira ana te Taraipiunara me kaua ngā tahua mō tēnei kaupapa e unuhia i te tapeke i whakaritea hei whakatau i ngā kerēme o mua o te takiwā.
I whiwhi te karauna i ngā kerēme 46 i roto i te ruku tātari ā-rohe o Taihape. Ka tū ngā nohoanga mai i te tau 2016 ki te tau 2021. Kei runga i te rōpū Taraipiunara o Taihape ko Justice Layne Harvey (mana whakahaere), Ahorangi Tā Pou Temara, Dr Monty Soutar, me Dr Paul Hamer. He mema o mua o te rōpū a Tā Douglas Kidd (kua rīhaina ināianei) rāua ko Dr Angela Ballara (kua haere ki tua i te ārai).