Te Haa Legal currently acts for several claimants participating in four Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry Districts, and two Urgency Inquiries. A brief update on the progress of each Inquiry is provided and further information can be obtained from the Waitangi Tribunal website.
Wai 2200 – Porirua ki Manawatu Inquiry
The Presiding Officer of the PKM District Inquiry is Deputy Chief Judge Caren Fox. The Inquiry District stretches from just south of Porirua north to the Turakina River: it is bounded by the Tasman Sea on the west, by the Tararua and Ruahine Ranges on the east and south, and on the north by the Parae Karetu, Taraketi, and Otamakapua blocks. The Inquiry is focused on the claims of Muaūpoko, Ngāti Raukawa and affiliated groups, and Te Atiawa/Ngāti Awa ki Kāpiti.
The PKM inquiry completed Nga Kōrero Tuku Iho hearings and the Muaūpoko expedited hearings in 2015. The majority of the PKM Inquiry is in the research phase. For Muaūpoko, the Inquiry is in the report writing phase, as these claims were heard in prioritised hearings and progressing faster than the rest of the Inquiry.
The claims lodged for the PKM inquiry incorporate a wide-range of issues, some being generic and others particularly district-specific (and overlap between the two).
Wai 2180 – Taihape: Rangitīkei ki Rangipō Inquiry
The Presiding Officer of the Taihape District Inquiry is Judge Layne Harvey. The Inquiry District covers the area known as Mōkai Pātea, west of the Ruahine and Kaweka Ranges and south of the Kaimanawa mountains. It includes the towns of Hunterville, Taihape and Waiouru, and the Rangitīkei River flows through the heart of the district.
The Inquiry is currently nearing the end of the research phase and has begun its interlocutory process, with the intention of commencing substantive hearings in early 2017. The Tribunal heard the oral traditions of tangata whenua at Ngā Kōrero Tuku Iho hearings held in March/April, July and September 2016.
Claimants and counsel have worked collaboratively to draft the Statement of Issues, hearing programme and casebook review. Two wananga were held providing an opportunity for claimants and counsel to speak informally with Tribunal staff about the design of the hearing programme for the Inquiry. The Tribunal will release the Final hearing programme late October 2016 and the Final Tribunal Statement of Issues in November 2016.
All research has been completed in the CFRT research programme. Recent completed additions to the Taihape casebook are:
Wai 1040 – Te Paparahi o Te Raki (Northland) Inquiry
Judge Craig Coxhead is Presiding Officer for the Northland Inquiry. The northern boundary of this Inquiry District runs along the ridge of the Maungataniwha Range and includes Whāngāpē Harbour. The western boundary includes the inland boundary outside the Te Roroa and Kaipara inquiry districts. The southern boundary runs along the North Shore of the Waitemata Harbour. The eastern boundary runs down the east coast and includes some of the outlying islands, such as Rangitoto and Aotea (Great Barrier).
The Stage 1 Inquiry hearings phase is completed and the Waitangi Tribunal released its report in November 2014. The Stage 1 report responded to the issues posed by the Tribunal, which focused on Māori and Crown understandings of He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga/the Declaration of Independence 1835, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi 1840.
Stage 2 hearings are now in process. Crown evidence is to be presented at the hearing week in December 2016, Claimant Closings in March and April 2017, and Crown Closings in June 2017.
Wai 2500 – Military Veterans Kaupapa Inquiry
Judge Wilson Isaac announced the opening of the Military Inquiry on 26 September 2014, and will cover all wars that Māori veterans served in. Māori veteran claimants include “all Māori veterans and their families, wives, widows, descendants who have suffered”. It is the first kaupapa inquiry concerning nationally significant claim issues that affect Māori as a whole across Aotearoa.
The Inquiry is currently in Phase 1: Interlocutory phase/Oral hearings. Oral hearings are an opportunity for veterans and their families to give an account of their personal stories and experiences. The Tribunal would like to hear kōrero on issues including enlistment, soldier resettlement, pensions, rehabilitation and the provision of support during and after Māori veterans returned from war. Issues raised by claimants include Māori who never received balloted lands after their service and return to Aotearoa, Māori veterans who suffered ‘shell shock’ (PTSD), Māori veterans who suffered illnesses and diseases without treatment on their return, the impact of ‘agent orange’ on the Vietnam service, and Māori veterans who suffered racism on their return due to their service in any of the NZ Defence Service. During 2015 and 2016, five oral hearings were held in Gisborne, Hastings, Northland, Whakatane and Christchurch. A further and final sixth oral hearing will be held in Waiouru from 26 to 28 October 2016.
The Tribunal, Crown and claimant counsel are taking a coordinated approach to planning the next two stages of the Inquiry – Phase 2: Further interlocutory phase/case book and Phase 3: Second hearings/closings.
