Crown left Horowhenua's Muaupoko iwi virtually landless, breaching Treaty of Waitangi

Friday, 30 June 2017

The Crown left a Horowhenua iwi virtually landless and its most precious taonga extremely degraded, the Waitangi Tribunal has found.

Lake Horowhenua and Hokio Stream were in a bad state and the Crown also took advantage of an indebted chief to buy land where Levin now stands and abused its 'monopoly powers', breaching the Treaty of Waitangi.

The findings, released by the Waitangi Tribunal on Friday, came with the request the Crown put a system in place to ensure the iwi can act as kaitiaki, or guardian, of the lake and stream.

The tribunal also wants the Crown to provide funding to ensure the iwi can adequately act as kaitiaki, as well as negotiating a settlement with the iwi.

**READ MORE:

* Crown quotes Holocaust book in closing submissions to Waitangi Tribunal

* Crown excluded Muaupoko from formation of Levin

* Waitangi Tribunal hears Crown influenced Native Land Court

* Lake Horowhenua compared to being waist deep in a long drop**

The tribunal's findings came after a hearing in 2015 and 2016, held at Muaupoko's request before Treaty settlement negotiations were well advanced.

The Crown admitted  various laws had hurt  the iwi by leaving it virtually landless.

The tribunal said the way the Crown  bought the land where Levin now stands was unfair,  because the Crown refused all of Muaupoko's terms for the sale.

It also dealt with a chief who was in debt.

The Crown also insisted on a price well below market value.

'The Crown obtain the block from a chief whose debts meant, as a Crown official noted, that he 'could not help himself',' the tribunal said.

'The Crown abused its monopoly powers to pay a price that was too low, and to reject all of the provisions which might have provided long-term benefit for the tribe.'

Various other deals were done with senior members of the iwi throughout the 1800s, the cumulative effect being the iwi having no land.

The tribunal said there were 'serious Treaty breaches' in relation to Lake Horowhenua and the Hokio Stream.

Despite the lake bed belonging to Muaupoko, the Crown made the lake a public recreation reserve, controlled by a domain board, in the early 1900s.

That was done without the full agreement of Muaupoko, the tribunal said.

That led to various other Treaty breaches, with the Crown 'complicit in the pollution and environmental degradation of both taonga'.

The tribunal has recommended the Crown negotiate a Treaty settlement with Muaupoko, which should include a 'contemporary Muaupoko governance structure' to administer the settlement.

That structure should also act as kaitiaki for Lake Horowhenua, the Hokio Stream, and associated waters  and fisheries.

The Crown should also provide 'appropriations' to help the kaitiaki meet its obligations, the tribunal said.