New Zealand Law: Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010

Summary

The earlier 1995 Waikato Raupatu Claims deed and the 1995 Act, was the first major treaty settlement since the Waitangi Tribunal began investigating historic breaches of the Crown. Those expressly excluded certain claims from the settlement, which included those of Waikato-Tainui in relation to the Waikato River. The Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010, has its overarching purpose to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River for future generations. The Act establishes the Waikato River Authority (the Authority) alongside the Ngati Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Act 2010, and the Ngā Wai o Maniapoto (Waipa River) Act 2012. The statutory body is the single co-governance entity responsible for the Waikato River in its entirety. It consists of 10 members appointed by the Waikato River Clean-Up Trust (“the Trust”), iwi, and the Minister for the Environment in consultation with relevant Ministers to ensure the vision and strategy to protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River for future generations is fulfilled. The Waikato River Settlement Act 2010 recognizes that to Waikato-Tainui, the Waikato River is a tupuna (ancestor) which has mana (prestige) and in turn represents the mana and mauri (life force) of the tribe. Respect for te mana o te awa (the spiritual authority, protective power and prestige of the Waikato River) is at the heart of the relationship between the tribe and their ancestral river. The Settlement Act essentially honors this relationship and implements methods of co-governance to protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River for future generations.