In Wellington last week the Waitangi Tribunal celebrated the 50th anniversary of its establishment by the Treaty of Waitangi Act, which passed into law on 10 October 1975. The anniversary events began with a Parliamentary reception on Wednesday evening, which was attended by current and former members of the Tribunal, the judiciary, stakeholders, Tribunal staff, and members of parliament.
Tribunal Chairperson Chief Judge Dr Caren Fox (front row, second from left) standing next to Deputy Chairperson Judge Sarah Reeves (third from left), alongside members and presiding officers of the Waitangi Tribunal.
On Thursday a two-day conference Ko te Tōrino: Haere Whakamua, Haere Whakamuri hosted by Te Herenga Waka in association with the Tribunal, began with a pōwhiri at Te Herenga Waka Marae at Victoria University of Wellington. The conference programme drew together a range of voices from Tribunal members, former politicians, international judges working in similar justice models, iwi leaders and Crown and claimant legal practitioners.
Sir Edward Taihakurei Durie, former Chairperson of the Tribunal from 1980 to 2004, delivered the opening address where he reflected on the ‘seismic shift’ the Tribunal had caused in New Zealand:
What we have achieved in this country is a huge cultural shift over 50 years. You go back 50 years ago and we were talking assimilation, we were talking that there will be just one people and we all had to be the same. What we are thinking of now is that unity and peace comes from respecting difference, not from assuming... that we all must be the same or that one group is dominant over another. We've made a seismic shift in New Zealand. We have redefined our national identity.[1]
The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Palmer and the Hon Christopher Finlayson also presented on day one. The second day of the conference focused on the future of the Tribunal. Delegates heard from an international panel of judges, and from former Crown counsel and claimant counsel, activists, and rangatahi. A total of six sessions were held over two days in the wharenui, Te Tumu Herenga Waka and in Aho Ruruku, the amphitheatre adjacent in Ngā Mokopuna (the Living Pā). Sessions in the wharenui were livestreamed into the amphitheatre space.
Former Tribunal Chairperson Sir Edward Taihakurei Durie seated next to former Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias. Sir Edward delivered the keynote address on day one of the conference.
Eru Kapa Kingi and Annette Sykes presenting on the role of the Tribunal into the future.
Former Prime Minister of New Zealand the Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Dame Sian Elias. Sir Geoffrey spoke at the conference as part of a panel alongside former Treaty Negotiations Minister, the Hon Christopher Finlayson.
Justice Sir Joe Williams, Justice Dianne McDonald (Member of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada) and Tribunal member Emeritus Professor David Williams.
Left to right: Lead Counsel formerly part of the Crown Law Treaty Team Andrew Irwin and Craig Linkhorn; claimant counsel and director of Tūkau Law, Dr Season-Mary Downs, and founding partner of Kāhui Legal Matanuku Mahuika.
During the conference Professor Carwyn Jones and Dr Maria Bargh launched their pukapuka 50 Years of The Waitangi Tribunal – Whakamana i Te Tiriti (Huia Publishers). Copies are available in bookstores or online for purchase here.
The conference concluded on Friday with the conference dinner at the Michael Fowler Centre.
Professor Linda Smith was the guest speaker for the conference dinner. Photo credit: Hagen Hopkins Photography
Guests listening intently to Professor Linda Smith. Photo credit: Hagen Hopkins Photography
Waitangi Tribunal 50th birthday cake. Photo credit: Hagen Hopkins Photography
A reoccurring theme throughout the conference and dinner was the remembrance and honouring of Tribunal members and others involved in the Tribunal’s work who have passed, acknowledging their contributions as agents of change, and reflecting on the scale and effect of these changes on New Zealand society.
The anniversary events ended on Sunday afternoon with a karakia whakakapi lead by Dr Ruakere Hond to close the photographic and taonga exhibition He Kura Toi Tangata: 50 years of the Waitangi Tribunal, which has been on display at Te Waka Huia o Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho Wellington Museum since May this year.