Tens of millions of dollars going to Treaty of Waitangi negotiators and lawyers

Wednesday, 1 August 2018

Justice Minister Andrew Little speaking at the Upper Treaty Grounds on Waitangi Day 2017.

Winston Peters has called it a gravy train, others the necessary cost of settling Treaty of Waitangi claims.

Either way, the amount of money the Government pays negotiators and lawyers involved in Treaty settlement negotiations continues to climb, now sitting at $26.6m since the 2006-07 financial year. When payments to Crown lawyers are included, the figure balloons to $68m.

The Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS) released 11 years of data to Stuff under the Official Information Act, providing one of the most comprehensive looks yet at the amount of money being made by experts connected to the Treaty process.

The information shows that up until February this year, $9.1m in total (excluding GST) was paid to 20 Crown negotiators, including such well-known names as Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy, former National MP Paul East and former Labour MPs Fran Wilde, Rick Barker and Paul Swain.

The most money went to Michael Dreaver Associates, co-owned by Dreaver and his wife, television presenter Miriama Kamo. Their firm was paid $2.26m during the period for work that included more than 20 settlements in the Auckland and Hauraki regions.

The payments to negotiators are dwarfed, however, by the amounts lawyers have earned.

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From the 2006-07 financial year until February this year, 20 private law firms were paid $17.4m.

Buddle Findlay earned the most at just over $8m, followed by Greenwood Roche ($5.3m) and Wellington barrister Wendell Slatter ($2m).

Payments to Crown Law and its representatives came in at $41.5m over the 11-year period.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little said the payments to lawyers seemed appropriate.

'The figures don't shock me or overwhelm me - they look to me about right for the nature of work that's being done.

'It's intensive work.'

Little has so far appointed one Crown negotiator, Ngati Whakaue commercial lawyer David Tapsell, who will work on the Kaipara Moana settlement. Most of the former Labour MPs were appointed by his predecessor, National's Chris Finlayson.

'Particularly for big complex negotiations [you want] people who can give confidence to the iwi that the Crown negotiator is somebody who takes their role seriously,' Little said.

NZ First leader Winston Peters has been highly critical of the amounts being paid to Crown Treaty negotiators, describing them in 2013 as 'colossal' and accusing Finlayson of giving huge contracts to his 'favoured mates'.

Now as Deputy Prime Minister he seems to have gone quiet on the issue - his office declined to comment on the latest figures.

Doris Johnston, deputy director of policy and operations for the OTS, said negotiators were New Zealanders who had 'sufficient mana and standing in the community' to be able to represent the Crown in negotiations with iwi leaders.

Chief Crown negotiators were expected to 'negotiate outcomes that benefit all New Zealanders' and provide advice on strategy and solutions to potentially difficult issues.

Johnston said the payments were for services, reimbursements of reasonable costs including travel and in some cases office space and administrative support.

In the 11 financial years up until February, a total of 212 agreements in principle and deeds of settlement had been signed, she said.

Johnston said the OTS used the services of law firms primarily for drafting deeds of settlement and advice on settlement matters.

Payments to the Crown Law Office were for services provided in court hearings relating to Treaty settlements and for general legal advice.