Taihape College farm cannot be released by government - Treaty Negotiations Minister

There is no way a Taihape farm - which locals contest should never have been declared surplus land and put in the landbank for Treaty settlement - can be released, the Treaty Negotiations Minister says.

Taihape locals accused the Ministry of Education of stealing the 13-hectare farm they pitched in to buy and set up for Taihape College students 30 years ago.

However, they did not put the farm in a separate trust and it was declared surplus land by the Ministry of Education and consequently land banked for Treaty Settlement.

There have been calls for local iwi to clear the way and ask the Crown to release the land, but the Office of Treaty Settlements said this was not possible in this case as negotiations had not taken place.

"As such, there has not yet been an opportunity for groups engaging in negotiations to consider which lands they may wish to seek to include as part of a Treaty settlement," Te Arawhiti (formerly the Office of Treaty Settlements) chief executive Lil Anderson said in a statement.

There were strict conditions in which a property could be released outside of a Treaty Settlement, with the authority of the Minister for Treaty Negotiations Andrew Little and Minister of Māori Development Willie Jackson.

These are:

• If it is offered to an iwi for purchase, provided the property is not subject to unaddressed overlapping claims
• Where it is clear no iwi with interests in it want the property

Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little said this could not happen until the Treaty Settlement process was complete.

"One of the critical things we know that the Crown had to hold on to land for was for future Treaty Settlements, bearing in mind the long history of this land is that there was land in that area, as there were in most areas around New Zealand, that was confiscated or that its original Māori owners were duped out of," Little said.

"Once land is put into the landbank, the only basis of which it can be released from the landbank is for either Treaty Settlements or another Crown purpose, it can't just be handed back willy-nilly to whoever thinks they have a claim on it."

Mōkai Pātea Waitangi Claims Trust is seeking a mandate from the Crown to negotiate a settlement on behalf of four local iwi - Ngāi Te Ohuake, Ngāti Hauiti, Ngāti Tamakōpiri and Ngāti Whitikaupeka.

Little said it was a matter for those iwi during the settlement process to decide what happens with the land.

"The community might want to realise that actually it's in everybody's interest that we are able to reach agreement on redress with iwi up there over their historical Treaty claims, that there is a community aspect to that and a better thing for them might be to forge good constructive relationships with the iwi as everybody thinks about what the future looks like and how that land might be used."

In a statement, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hauiti convenor Dr Heather Gifford said the iwi approach had been "to encourage the Crown to help meet the needs of the school by providing farmland from the land bank for their use - which has occurred".

The iwi was concerned about meeting the educational needs of Māori students that made up 60 percent of the school roll.

"Consequently, the school has access to farmland for education purposes, rangatahi agricultural aspirations are being met and the Treaty of Waitangi Settlement process continues.

"A positive outcome for all concerned."

How is land banked for Treaty Settlements?

Landbanking helps the Crown settle Treaty of Waitangi claims by holding land that is of particular significance to iwi or hapū where a settlement has not been reached, and where the land is no longer of use to the government.

The process by which land is deemed surplus to requirement is called the Protection Mechanism, and is managed by part of the Office for Māori-Crown Relations - Te Arawhiti.

Once surplus land is identified by the relevant ministry, groups or individuals who have a recognised historical claim with the Waitangi Tribunal can make an application for a property to be landbanked. The exception is land in raupatu (confiscation) areas, which is automatically considered for landbanking.

Te Arawhiti states the criteria for land to be banked under the Protection Mechanism are:

• Applicants must give sufficient reasons to show why the site is significant
• There must be a strong enough justification for meeting the costs of holding the property
• It doesn't exceed the financial limit of the regional landbank; and if this is reached, the property must be significant enough that an exception can be made

Although applicants are from iwi and/or hapū with a relationship to the whenua, Te Arawhiti chief executive Lil Anderson said it was not banked for any particular claimant group.

Landbank properties can be used as either cultural or commercial redress in a Treaty settlement.

Property can also be landbanked outside of the Protection Mechanism, by the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Minister for Māori Development and the Minister of Finance.

This is done to purchase private or council land, and are made on a case-by-case basis where it is clear what settlement the property will be included in and the specific importance of the property to that Treaty settlement.

How did the Taihape College farm end up being landbanked?

19 October 2015: The Office of Treaty Settlements was notified by the Ministry of Education that the 13.22 acre block was surplus.

6 December 2015: The property was advertised in Sunday newspapers to identify any Māori interests by inviting iwi or hapū with an interest in the land to apply to have it put in the landbank

December 2015/January 2016: The Office of Treaty Settlements receives applications from two different groups from "within the claimant community". It wouldn't disclose the names of the iwi or hapū applicants

The Protection Mechanism for Surplus Crown-owned Land officials committee - made up of representatives from the Office of Treaty Settlements, Te Puni Kōkiri, Land Information New Zealand, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education - recommended the land be banked on the basis:

• It would enhance the spread of properties in the Taihape claims area
• It would not exceed the financial limit of the Taihape claims area
• The applications included cultural and historical information
• The property was near Winiata marae
• It adjoins another block (part Taihape College) that adjoins the Hautapu River

A 6.8 acre block - part of the old Taihape College including a gymnasium and administration buildings - was also declared surplus on 6 January 2016.

A landbanking application was received on 18 February 2016 from Neville Lomax, a claimant from Ngāti Hauiti.