26 February 2002 Media Release

IS LOCAL GOVERNMENT A TREATY PARTNER?

Māori claims to separate representation in local government, and recognition of Māori in decision-making on resource management, will be investigated as part of a research project into Treaty relationships between Māori and local government.

The research is being done as the government undertakes a major overhaul of the Local Government Act.

The Crown Forestry Rental Trust has commissioned the research because many Treaty claimants allege actions by local and regional authorities breached the Treaty. The Crown has argued that local government is not a Treaty partner.

Researcher Dr Janine Hayward, of Otago University, will look into the constitutional relationship between Māori and local government, Māori representation, and how local government recognises Māori in environmental management.

Dr Hayward says the future status of Māori representation at the local level is uncertain, despite recent legislation and the confirmation of separate Māori seats in Parliament.

“The creation of the Māori seats in 1867 was a pragmatic move, and the reasoning behind it has never been properly explored,” she said. “There’s been a recent flurry of legislation around Māori seats in local government, so this is a good time to study the history and the constitutional principles involved.”

“This raises a question of the wider constitutional relationship between Māori and local government. The question came up during the local government reforms of the 1980s, but it wasn’t properly answered then. In the past, local government activity like roading, rating and public works had huge impacts on Māori. Who is answerable for Treaty breaches? Did the Crown delegate its Treaty obligations when it conferred authority on local government, either in the 19th century, or in the 1980s? And does the current Local Government Bill address this question?

“The third main area I’m looking at is Māori and resource management. The Resource Management Act requires local government to consult Māori, for example, but consult who exactly, and on what issues? I’ll be looking at the provisions of the Act, and how it works in practice. The Act also allows iwi to develop resource management plans, but how does local government recognise them?

The Crown Forestry Rental Trust’s Research Manager, Vincent O’Malley, says Janine Hayward is ideally qualified to do the research.

“Dr Hayward’s PhD thesis investigated the identity of the Crown as a Treaty partner, including the Māori-local government relationship. She’s worked as a researcher and writer for the Waitangi Tribunal, and she’s published articles and is currently editing a book for the Oxford University Press on Māori and local government.”

The scoping report is expected to be finished in July 2002.