Treaty of Waitangi Claims and Settlements - Criticisms

Criticisms

The Treaty settlement process has attracted criticisms from across the political spectrum since it began. As noted above, Māori were concerned that the level of redress provided was too low, and that the settlement process was subject to too much Crown control. Conservationists were concerned about the impact of claims to conservation land, and many Pākehā were concerned that settlements would directly affect them. Public Access New Zealand and the One New Zealand Foundation respectively were lobby groups formed to represent these views. In general, those who feel that the Treaty claims process has gone too far are Pākehā, while those who believe it does not go far enough are Māori. However there are some exceptions on both sides: the politician who has perhaps been most prominent in arguing against the Treaty is Winston Peters, who is Māori, while there have been a number of Pākehā pro-Treaty groups.

However, during the 1990s there was broad agreement between major political parties that the settlement of historical claims was appropriate, within the confines of the government's policy to limit impact on private landowners and access to conservation land. Legislation enacting Treaty settlements was passed by Parliament with an overwhelming majority. On the claimants' side, support for a settlement was expressed through ratification among adult members of a tribe, in contrast with the early settlement attempts of the 1940s.

Over time, the consensus on the part of politicians has frayed. Winston Peters has critiqued the increasing number of claims registered at the Waitangi Tribunal, a result of the law which allows any Māori to lodge a claim, and suggested that a "Treaty of Waitangi Gravy Train" has formed around the claims process. The ACT party has echoed that criticism - despite stating that "claims should be promptly settled where land was unlawfully taken or improperly compensated, if we can identify the descendants of those who were wronged", they have never voted in support of Treaty settlement legislation, and coined the phrase "Treaty of Waitangi Grievance Industry", to describe the participants in the settlement process.

The Orewa Speech in 2004 saw the National Party for the first time take up the term "Treaty of Waitangi Grievance Industry". National's Māori Affairs spokeswoman Georgina Te Heuheu, who was Associate Minister to Sir Douglas Graham, was replaced in the role by Gerry Brownlee. Specific criticism that members of the National Party have made against settlements is that they are not being negotiated quickly enough, that insufficient attention is being given to ensure that claimant negotiators have the support of their people, and that settlement legislation is giving inappropriate weight to the spiritual beliefs of Māori.

The Māori Party and Green Party both criticise Treaty settlements on the grounds that the Crown has too much power in negotiations, that settlements negotiated at an iwi level ignore the rights of hapu, and that settlement redress is too parsimonious.

While some disagreement remains, parties unanimously supported the legislation to implement the Te Roroa, Affiliate Te Arawa and Central North Island settlements, which were passed in September 2008.