View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ResearchArchive at Victoria University of Wellington “Towards a Positive Treaty Partnership in the Post-Settlement Era” Treaty of Waitangi Settlements and Decolonisation in Aotearoa New Zealand Scott Summerfield A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in M Studies āori Victoria University of Wellington 2015 Contents Dedication ................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. iv Abstract..................................................................................................................................... vi Chapter One: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 Chapter Two: Methodology ...................................................................................................... 6 Chapter Three: Decolonisation and political justice .............................................................. 19 The politics of difference and colonisation .......................................................................... 19 Indigenous perspectives on injustice and decolonisation ................................................... 25 Chapter Four: Crown Policy and Treaty settlements ............................................................. 32 A brief overview of the history and framework of Treaty of Waitangi settlements ........... 32 Case study: Treaty settlements and public conservation land. ........................................... 40 Chapter Five: Data Collection ................................................................................................. 50 Chapter Six: Discourses on Treaty settlements in the 2014 general election ...................... 59 Treaty settlements as a footnote in the wider story of Māori in the 2014 election ........... 60 One Law, One People, One New Zealand – discourses on unity ......................................... 61 “We’re moving at pace” – discourses on deadlines and timeframes .................................. 67 “Settlement must include meaningful constitutional transformation” – discourses on reconstruction of power ............................................................................... 72 One cent in the dollar – discourses on limitations .............................................................. 74 Benefits of settlement for all – discourses on Māori, economic, and regional development .......................................................................................................... 79 “True property rights for Māori only began with the signing of the Treaty” – discourses on Māori rights ................................................................................................... 82 The club of Māori and French aristocrats – discourses on privilege ................................... 86 Rewards for good behaviour – discourse on ‘willing and able’ iwi ...................................... 91 Page | i “… a positive Treaty partnership in the post-settlement era” – discourses on the post-settlement world .............................................................................................. 93 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 99 Chapter Seven: Conclusion ................................................................................................... 101 Bibliography/Reference list .................................................................................................. 105 Page | ii 1 Dedication For Peter Tiki Johnston. Kua hinga te tōtara i Te Waonui a Tāne Thank you for all you taught me, most importantly about integrity in the struggle for decolonisation. Rest well 1 Photo courtesy of Peter Matai Johnston Page | iii Acknowledgements This thesis has been an interesting endeavour. In 2012 I decided I needed to up skill, moved home from Germany and enrolled at Massey University to complete my Bachelor of Arts (Hons) - with the support and tutelage of Veronica Tawhai, April Bennett, Suzy Killmister and Emily Beausoleil. The focus of my honours year was essentially on Treaty settlements being 'not very good.' This was accompanied with a little over two years at the Office of Treaty Settlements, and a transition from 'not very good' in my mind, to considering Treaty settlements to be 'not very good at all.' In 2014 I enrolled in my Master of Arts at Victoria University of Wellington and this new chapter of academic exploration of settlements has moved the process and its outcomes, in my opinion, to be 'quite poor indeed'. The reasoning for that opinion is set out in this thesis. This has been an important journey for me and one which was supported by many, though here I would like to thank just a few. Thanks to Hannah McGregor, Leigh McNicholl, Adam Levy, Talei Pasikale, Sophie Chrisp and Megan Robins for encouraging and supporting me through my time at OTS, all you've done to inspire me, give me hope and make me laugh - at some times that were appropriate and at many times that were not! To Joey Randall, Dr Morgan Healey, Dr Luca Dolce, and Giuliano Gatto, thank you for your love and support, advice and room to think out loud during this project. A big thanks also to the many friends, old and new, who took time to let me talk through my ideas and to ask questions - the value of this is immeasurable. To my supervisors, Dr Maria Bargh and Professor Richard Hill, thank you for all your time, effort and perseverance in supporting this project. Between the two of you I like to think that you've kept me on an even keel and ensured this is a piece of work that is accessible to many and provides some understanding of the way forward in decolonised Crown-Māori relations. I look forward to working with you both again in the future. Thank you to the Stout Research Centre for briefly hosting me before my move to Hauraki (the beginning of my fortifying Tuesday curry and beer nights alone in the office), to the generous staff at Te Kawa a Māui for looking after me at the MASS conference and to the Page | iv McCarthy Trust, JR McKenzie Trust, Thames-Coromandel District Council and Victoria University of Wellington for financial support throughout this year. To Tony and Wanda Brljevich, Jill Taylor and Nicki Scott, Amelia Williams, John Linstead and Josie Anderson, and Peter Matai Johnston and Joe Davis - thank you for all of your patience and support over the past few years. There is so much more to be said than can be included in such a short space, though suffice to say without your support my completion of this work would not have been possible. Patrick and Wendy Summerfield, who have always supported my academic pursuits, been annoyed by them at times, but always proud - thank you for all that you've given me and for the background of love, support and being lectured to at the dinner table, over Skype or even on the beach the day after my wedding, that has made this undertaking possible. Lastly, to Ross Lynch - thank you for always being there. It has been a mad year (and why would we ever hold back) and your on-going support for this project, as well as all my other hopes, dreams and conceptual art projects, has made all the difference to being able to achieve what I have and with everything else going on for us. There are many types of aroha expressed here and to Ross above all I must say thank you. Page | v Abstract Settlements of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims present a unique opportunity to provide redress to Māori for the past and ongoing grievances committed by the Crown, and through that redress and the accompanying focus on improved relations, to decolonise the relationship between the two. Despite this opportunity, there is a wide body of literature that suggests the outcomes of these settlements instead will perpetuate colonisation and uphold the political structures which allow for the on-going dispossession of Māori. This thesis argues that existing Treaty settlement policy can be viewed as a continuation of the legacy of colonisation by stealth, entrenching the power of the colonial state while simultaneously offering redress and apologies for past grievances of the colonisation process which do not adequately challenge the underlying structures which give rise to those grievances. It is further argued, through the example of political rhetoric from the 2014 general election, that current political discourses support the implementation of colonising settlement policies and that those discourses reinforce notions of Western settler superiority. This thesis explores a number of perspectives on settlements and decolonisation which support the claim that historical Treaty settlements perpetuate rather than challenge colonisation. I argue that the pressing concern emerging from the thesis is that the Crown can be to seen to be directing the Treaty relationship to a post-settlement world where the negotiated outcomes of Treaty settlements and the parties to them are the end point of colonisation and represent the future dynamic of the Crown-Māori relationship. Page | vi Chapter One: Introduction In 2015, Waikato-Tainui celebrated 20 years since the signing of their historic Treaty