January 2008 Newsletter
Kia hiwa ra- January 2008
Chief Executive
"Be under no illusions. This is a tragedy, and we are all left bereft by it." Tamati Olsen
It is with immense sadness that we begin 2008 at the Trust. The loss of Jacqui Ngapera in December has devastated her family, her friends and her colleagues. Jacqui has been a pillar of the Trust for the last nine years, and her ongoing presence in our midst was something we all took for granted. Her deep commitment to the work of resolving Treaty of Waitangi claims, her honesty, courage, humour and zest for life are deeply missed.
The Trust wishes to thank all of the individuals and organisations who forwarded their condolences at the end of last year. I especially want to acknowledge all of those who contributed time and resources over that period. Most of all I am proud of my staff who performed above and beyond, to ensure their workmate was sent off in an appropriate manner.
Despite our loss, we must continue to strive to meet the needs of the claimant community.
2008 brings with it the general election. If past experiences are anything to go by, Maori issues will be catapulted into the spotlight at some stage as political parties clamber for headlines. The Trust will examine Treaty policy announcements from all political parties this year. It is important the Trust examines the impact of political policies and how they might affect the way in which the Trust conducts its business.
Last year the Trust assisted a large number of claimant organisations through both the Waitangi Tribunal and direct negotiation pathways. Among those to reach important milestones on their settlement journey were Ngati Apa and Te Rarawa who both signed an Agreements in Principle with the Crown. Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare are close to signing AIPs. Kurahaupo, Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga and Ngati Toa received two Waitangi Tribunal reports and the Trust is assisting these groups to further their negotiations. The Trust places a high priority on ensuring that momentum continues this year.
We will continue to work closely with our sector organisations over the coming year and look forward to maintaining and building on those relationships.
Staffing
It is with regret that the Trust accepted the resignation of Duane Wilkins at the end of last year. He is off to the Middle East to apply his highly regarded mapping skills to rebuilding Iraq’s infrastructure. As our Mapping Facilitator he worked with a large number of clients assisting them in preparing their cases before the Waitangi Tribunal. We wish Duane all the best.
Our Client Services Group is almost back at full capacity with the appointment of two more staff to the ranks.
Lorena Stephens (Ngapuhi). Lorena is a chartered accountant and has worked with a variety of public (Te Puni Kokiri, Te Mangai Paho, Audit NZ) and private sector organisations (KPMG). Most recently, she has been managing a review of Primary Health Organisations throughout New Zealand. Lorena brings extensive experience in the areas of audit and risk, contract management and financial management. Lorena’s starting date is Monday 11 February 2008.
Martin Bercic (Te Rarawa). Martin joined us in early January 2008 and is on a six month contract assisting with the Whanganui hearings. Martin has extensive government and community experience and prior to joining us, was the HR Maori Services Manager at ACC for the last five years.
Enhancing our service capability
The Trust seeks to continuously improve its services to meet the needs of its clients.
An area of improvement is the Trust’s claimant contractual financial reporting policy and processes. This policy has been reviewed and there are changes that will impact on all claimants who have Trust contracts. A series of road-show presentations and individual visits is planned for March 2008. Claimants will be contacted by their Relationship Manager to discuss how this policy will impact on them.
We have fully implemented Kauri which is the Trust's contract management system. It will be further enhanced over the coming months to ensure that the Trust's internal servicing requirements continue to run smoothly. The Trust is yet to fully integrate its specialist advice framework within the system.
Guide for Claimants negotiating Treaty settlements
The Crown Forestry Rental Trust has long identified a need for information on the Treaty settlement process that enable Maori to negotiate effectively and achieve just and durable Treaty settlements. With this purpose in mind, in November 2007 the Trust published Aratohu mo nga Ropu Kaitono - Guide for Claimants Negotiating Treaty Settlements. The Guide provides a Maori perspective to the Office of Treaty Settlements’ publication Ka tika ki muri, ka tika ki mua - Healing the past, building a future: a Guide to Treaty of Waitangi Claims and Negotiations with the Crown (commonly called the Red Book).
The Guide makes some frank observations and raises issues that claimants must seriously consider, such as the wider claimant group’s expectations of the outcomes from a Treaty settlement, and the constraints that the Crown (and its agents) are under in terms of what is possible in an agreed settlement. The Guide does not advocate a new Treaty settlement process, but provides advice and insights on how to work effectively within the constraints of the current process.
This Guide for Claimants does not duplicate the Red Book. Instead it walks claimant leaders and negotiators through the administrative and legal aspects of settlement negotiations from the claimants’ perspective. It compares and analyses past claimant milestones from the initial requirements under the Deed of Mandate through to the Deed of Settlement and establishment of the post-settlement governance entity. A key aim of this Guide is to enable claimant leaders to develop an integrated strategy for the whole settlement process rather than treating each phase on an ad hoc basis.
We have seen both the positive and negative aspects of settlement outcomes. There have been significant settlements, but at times considerable money and effort have been spent on wasteful duplication, and from time to time, poor or erroneous advice. This Guide aims to minimise those negative outcomes.
While the Guide is claimant-focussed, the Trust hopes that it will become required reading for all professionals involved in the Treaty sector, particularly those who are, or propose to be, engaged with the Crown in settlement negotiations.
Copies of the Guide for Claimants negotiating Treaty settlements are now available at the Trust. Electronic copies are also available from the Trust website. Here
The Guide, at over 330 pages, is densely packed with information. It is a big read. As such we realised the need for a more general summary edition written to be more accessible to all members of hapu and iwi. We have published a Summary edition which is available in hard copy from the Trust and electronically. Here
Economics of Treaty settlements
We have commissioned Business and Economic Research Limited to undertake two projects on the Economics of Treaty Settlements.
The first project presents a model of the fixed costs of operating a medium sized post-governance settlement entity, the discretionary costs (i.e. the expectations of the beneficiaries for a range of grants and financial assistance to the iwi) and size of the commercial and financial redress package that would be required to support the functions of such an entity.
The second project illustrates, using a number of variables and assumptions, a simple spreadsheet-based economic model of income generated by early settlement of quantum versus costs of income foregone and ongoing costs of continued settlement.
These reports will be finalised within the next few weeks and the Trust will make these models available to claimants soon after that.
The Waitangi Tribunal
Whanganui hearings
Hearing Block 2 - Central cluster
4 hearing weeks will be set down for March - May 2008 for the Central cluster
Hearing Block 3 - Northern cluster and Ngati Rangi
4 hearing weeks will be set down for 2008 for these groups
Crown hearings
8 days will be scheduled for Crown hearings in early 2009
Closings
Closings will likely be held in May-June 2009
East Coast
The East Coast district inquiry judicial conference was held on Wednesday 23 January 2008 at the Marina View Gisborne Conference Centre.
The next East Coast Research Hui will be held at the Emerald Hotel, Gisborne on Friday 1 February 2008.
Ben Dalton
Chief Executive
Crown Forestry Rental Trust
