Ng¯ati Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims Settlement Bill

Commentary
Ngāti Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims
Settlement 7
Meaning of ‘‘whāngai of Ngati Tuwharetoa’’
We were concerned that the definition of whāngai in the bill did not
accurately reflect the wishes of Ngāti Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty)
and the intention of their deed of settlement. We feel that it should
have been left to the claimants to decide how they want to express
‘‘whāngai’’in the bill. We queried whether they had access to the full
range of definitions from other legislation. We are now confident
that the definition, as amended, reflects the intent in the deed of
settlement.
Geothermal statutory acknowledgement
We expressed concern that the geothermal statutory acknowledgement
will give Ngāti Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) special status over
the Kawerau geothermal system, which may diminish the legitimate
rights and interests of private landowners in the area.
We were advised that clause 61 of the bill provides that the statutory
acknowledgement does not affect the lawful rights and interests of
any person who is not party to the deed of settlement, and therefore it
does not diminish the existing rights of a person who is not a party to
the deed of settlement. We further note that the definition of geothermal
water and geothermal energy for the purposes of the geothermal
statutory acknowledgement does not include geothermal water or
energy above the ground on land that is not owned by the Crown.
Proposed inclusion of geothermal statutory
acknowledgement
After the bill was introduced, a proposal was made to include a new
schedule regarding the association of Ngāti Tuwharetoa (Bay of
Plenty) with the geothermal resource. On our request that parties
agreed that this was not necessary, as this association is expressed in
full in Schedule 5.16 of the settlement deed.
Right of first refusal over Crown geothermal assets
The Ngāti Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Settlement is the first historical
Treaty settlement to contain a right of first refusal provision
relating to geothermal assets. The Crown has acknowledged that the
Kawerau geothermal resource is a taonga for Ngāti Tuwharetoa
(Bay of Plenty).