Source: Radio New Zealand
Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa is yet to hear back from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, left, over Minister of Treaty Negotiations Paul Goldsmith’s role. RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
A Hawke’s Bay post-settlement iwi trust has written to the Prime Minister calling for the removal of Paul Goldsmith as the Minister of Treaty Negotiations.
Iwi trust chairperson Pieri Munro told RNZ that Goldsmith should not have oversight of negotiations affecting Wairoa iwi, after his decision to transfer six Department of Conservation reserves to a neighbouring iwi.
Under the Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana settlement bill six reserves around Lake Waikaremoana, Mangaone, Panekirikiri, Tutaemaro, Waihi South, Waikareiti and Ruakituri Scenic Reserve, would be transferred to the Te Urewera Board which Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa (TToTW) says would alienate them from Ngāti Kahungunu.
Munro (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāruahinerangi, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Irakēhu) said the trust supports the Ngāti Ruapani settlement, but it wants the reserves removed from the bill.
Munro wrote to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on 2 April seeking the removal of Goldsmith. He’s still waiting for a response.
“This bill, if it passes through, will alienate Te Rohe o Te Wairoa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, from any future decision-making surrounding those [reserves].
“It will pass under Te Uruwera Board, we have no seat there, Ruapani does, the majority is held by Ngāi Tūhoe.”
Iwi trust chairperson Pieri Munro Suplied/Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa
Munro said through history and whakapapa there was shared interest in the land among Ngāiti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Ngāti Ruapani and Ngāi Tūhoe.
The six reserves in question were also identified in the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa settlement, he said.
“The Minister sees fit to actually put them exclusively in the Te Uruwera Board, and that just doesn’t make sense and that’s really our objection. We support Ruapani in terms of its settlement and its redress, but we do object to these six DOC reserves passing away and alienating us from our rights and interests in those six blocks,” he said.
The alienation risks litigation and future treaty grievances, he said.
“[Goldsmith] preferred to try and find a way of balance. Well, this has created imbalance if it passes through in the bill process.”
A map of the six reserves that would pass to Te Urewara Board under the Ngāti Ruapani settlement, identified here as numbers 1 through 4 and 23, 24. Supplied/Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa
In a statement chairperson of Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana Kara Puketapu-Dentice said Wairoa iwi are long-settled iwi who had their own dedicated opportunity through the Treaty settlement process to pursue any rightful claim to these areas.
“As required by the settlement process, Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana engaged directly with Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa and all neighbouring iwi, including hui in Pōneke, Wairoa, and at our marae in Waikaremoana. We acknowledged whakapapa connections to our rohe and welcomed whānau from Wairoa to participate in caring for this whenua as members of our hapū, in accordance with our tikanga and under the guidance of ahi kā.
“We are disappointed that engagement undertaken in good faith is now being misrepresented in an attempt to achieve through our settlement what was not achieved through their own. The hapū of Waikaremoana has maintained ahi kā on this whenua for generations, that will not be undermined by those who had their own path and chose not to walk it.”
Ngāti Ruapani mai chairperson Waikaremoana Kara Puketapu-Dentice VNP / Phil Smith
As for TToTW’s options should the Bill become law Munro said litigation was one avenue but the Trust was cautious of taking that approach.
“But what we’re seeking in the bill process is that those six identified reserves be removed so that we continue to work with Ruapani, with Ngāi Tūhoe, and also with the Department of Conservation. We expect that non-exclusive redress operates in substance, not merely in form.”
Munro said TToTW have been in dialogue with Tūhoe post-settlement trust Te Uru Taumatua as well as Ngāti Ruapani mai Wakaremoana over the future of the reserves.
Carefully balanced views – Goldsmith
In a statement Goldsmith said he wrote to both Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa and Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana in August 2025 advising of his final decisions on the overlapping interests.
“The two groups had been in negotiations with each other since 2022, however, could not reach an agreement.
“My decision sought to carefully balance the views of both groups. Ultimately, I decided to follow the advice from my officials to retain the proposal to add land into Te Urewera. This is a core settlement aspiration for Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana and I consider it appropriate to recognise their interests in this way.
“I was also reassured that the proposal to add land into Te Urewera means that the land will continue to be able to be enjoyed by all New Zealanders.”
Goldsmith said he had nothing further to add at this stage.
Submissions on the Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana Claims Settlement Bill closed on 10 April. The Bill will now be considered by the Māori Affairs Select Committee.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
