Direct negotiation process defended

The head of the Office of Treaty Settlements says the direct negotiations over Auckland land claims was the best way to make rapid progress.

Paul James was in Auckland today to observe witnesses for the Crown giving evidence to the Waitangi Tribunal on the processes followed in reaching as settlement with Ngati Whatua.

Other tribes with historical links to Tamaki Makaurau say they were shut out and the deal will give Orakei hapu exclusive ownership of some of their customary waahi tapu.

Mr James says the Crown's evidence should satisfy the tribunal that other iwi were sufficently consulted.

He says Ngati Whatua has behaved honourably.

“They've approached the Crown, indicated they’d like to secure a comprehensive settlement of all their claims. There hadn’t been an inquiry by the tribunal into this area. However, the Crown wanted to make progress with treaty settlements and so engaged with Ngati Whatua in direct negotiations,” Mr James says.

He says the Agreement in Principle signed with Orakei last June is only provisional, and changes could be made after consultation with other affected iwi.

MAORI PARTY GRANDSTANDING COULD BACKFIRE

The Minister of Maori Affairs is warning the Maori Party political grandstanding can have repercussions.

Parekura Horomia says he is pleased the party eventually decided to back Sue Bradford's anti smacking bill.

But he says the "will they, won't they" performance they put on seemed designed to highlight the value of their vote.

“You know if you start leveraging just to prove that you might have an influence, that can work the other way too. At the end of the day, if you’re not in government, if you don’t make the decisions, you can grandstand all you like,” Mr Horomia says.

PARTY DENIES GRANDSTANDING

But Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples says there was no grandstanding.

Dr Sharples says his party supported the bill through its first two readings, but took time to consider amendments.

He says under the MMP system, the Maori party's four votes will have more value at some times than others.

“We've always known that at times we’ll be the balance of power, and here’s a good example the people can perhaps learn from and see the value, Maoris anyway, in having a strong Maori Party in there,” Dr Sharples says.

BORDERS PLANS BIG TE REO STOCK

Borders hopes its new store in Wellington will be a mecca for people wanting Maori interest and Maori language books.

Wellington manager Melissa Philips says the global book chain has identified high demand for books in and on Maori at its existing Auckland and Christchurch stores.

Ms Philips says they'll be on the shelves when the doors open tomorrow.

“Our Auckland store on Queen St won an award last year for their Maori language selection, so we’ll be replicating that range,” Ms Philips says.

TREATY BACK ON CURRICULUM

The Maori spokesperson for primary teachers' union the New Zealand Education Institute is welcoming the return of the Treaty of Waitangi to the classroom.

Education secretary Karen Sewell told the Maori affairs select committee today the exclusion of the treaty from the draft curriculum was a mistake, and it will be in the final document.

Laures Park, the NZEI's matua takawaenga, says as the nation's founding document the treaty should be up front and centre of the what schools teach children.

“If the curriculum of this country doesn’t actually put it out in front, then immediately we’re saying that our national curriculum can be just the same as anywhere else in the world really. There isn’t anything that makes it unique. There isn’t the content of te reo Maori that should be quite explicit as well,” Ms Park says.

She says schools are comfortable teaching the treaty of Waitangi, and its exclusion from the draft was an over-reaction by the government to Don Brash's Orewa speech.

AUCKLAND SETTLEMENT NOT FIXED IN STONE

The director of the Office of Treaty Settlements says the proposed settlement with Ngati Whatua o Orakei could change.

The Waitangi Tribunal is in Auckland hearing evidence on whether the direct negotiation process the government followed was fair to other tribes with interests in Tamaki Makaurau.

Under the deal, the Orakei hapu will have the right to buy hundreds of millions of dollars of Crown land, and be given ownership of key volcanoes including Maungawhau-Mt Eden and Maungakiekie or One Tree Hill.

Paul James says the settlement could change after consulation with other iwi.

“The agreement in principle is non-binding, so at this point it’s an agreement in principle, literally that, and it’s an opportunity for us to then consult with other interested and overlapping parties to seek their views, and try and reach agreement with them on the best way forward,” Mr James says.

He says direct negotiations are proving an effective way to make good and rapid agreements with iwi, without having to have a full Waitangi Tribunal investigation.

BASTION POINT HELPED SHAPE IDENTITY

Tainui director Christian Penny says even if we are not directly involved in events, they can have a profound influence on our lives.

Penny's play Penumbra is at Skycity Theatre this week as part of the Auckland Festival.

It tells the story of a New Zealand family in the latter half of the 20th century, drawing on events such as the 1953 Tangiwai Disaster, the Maori Showbands of the 1960's, Bastion Point and a solar eclipse as the century drew to a close.

Penny says the 1978 Bastion Point occupation in particular shaped his thinking.

“That definitely touched me as a Maori, that people were being challenged by the state ion such a massive scale. Even though I wasn’t in the middle of that protest and didn’t understand it and my family weren’t involved or articulate in any of those senses, it has come to affect me and influence my work and how I make sense of my own Maoritanga,” Penny says.