Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I register?

It is our time to go on our Waitangi Claims journey. We have formed our sub-group alliance of four hapū (find out more about Te Whakaaetanga below), and our negotiators are going to sit with the Minister of Treaty Settlements this year – 2023. Now is our time and we need all our hapū registered, informed and onboard this waka so we can gain our compensation for the losses and hardships we suffered as a people due to colonisation.

By sharing your information with us, Ngati Kuta is able to engage you and your whānau in the Treaty process. We will make contact with you when your need to vote at the key points in our journey, and so you can benefit from our Claims journey in the end.

By registering with Ngati Kuta, you will also join our connected network of members across the world. We will be able to keep you up to date and informed on hapū news and projects.   

Who should register?

It is important that you register all members of your whanau who tātai back to Ngati Kuta. This includes, your kuia and kaumātua, your tamariki, pēpi and your moko! Having their information will be important for years to come, so registering them now will save them and us the hassle in future.

My whānau and I have previously registered, do we still need to register?

Unfortunately, we are starting our registration from scratch as of Sep 2021. We have new clauses added to the registration form that asks for your permission to share your information with Ngati Kuta and for purposes of progressing our Treaty of Waitangi Claim with the Crown. It is important that we also have updated information about you and your whānau. 

What happens with my information?

We collect your contact details and whakapapa, and enter it into the Ngati Kuta electronic database. Only a strict list of people within Ngati Kuta have access to your personal information. You will need to advise us if your details change.  

We respect your privacy and work to ensure your personal information is stored securely. We will not share your personal information.  Please see our Privacy Policy if you would like to find out more about how we will store and protect your personal information.

What is Te Whakaaetanga? 

Ngati Kuta has partnered with four other hapu, Patukeha, Ngati Manu and Ngati Torehina ki Matakā, to form the group called Te Whakaaetanga. This is a regional alliance of like minded hapu pursuing Hapu Rangatiratanga. Each hapu will have two negotiators represented on Te Whakaaetanga to engage with the Crown as the Crown does not negotiate with individual hapu.

Te Whakaaetanga is only a vehicle by which to negotiate our Redress Package with the Crown. It will not own our redress package and more importantly, it will not be a “parent” to Ngati Kuta during nor post settlement. It is just a vehicle.

Once settlement is achieved, all redress owed to Ngati Kuta will be redirected to Ngati Kuta. 

Who are our current Ngati Kuta hapu representatives for Te Whakaaetanga? 

Dean Clendon is our current representative. Ngati Kuta has not yet selected it’s negotiators but as we get nearer to the negotiation stage, two negotiators will be appointed.

Could you be a negotiator or do you have other skills that may support the hapu through this process?

If you have any suggestion or recommendations, please share with us through email at ngatikutahapu@gmail.com 

What is the “Crown Settlement Process”? 

Our hapū is part of Te Whakaeetanga Alliance and the Crown is represented by the New Zealand Government and Te Arawhiti is the Government’s lead agency established to progress the settlement of historical grievances with all iwi.  

A settlement can give 3 kinds of redress to the claimant group. 

• Historical account of the Treaty breaches, crown acknowledgement and apology 

• Cultural redress 

• Commercial and financial redress.

New legislation can also be an outcome of a settlement to enact the agreed negotiation outcomes.  

TREATY PROCESS 

There are 4 key steps to achieve Treaty Redress  

1. Mandate Stage Obtain a mandate from Ngati Kuta whanau to negotiate redress alongside our Te Whakaaetanga Alliance. You will be asked to vote Yes or No to this.  
2. Negotiation Stage Ngati Kuta through our Te Whakaaetanga alliance with prepare and engage the Crown for negotiations.   
3. Agreement Ngati Kuta through our Te Whakaaetanga alliance will sign a Deed of Settlement with the Crown when we are happy with the redress package that has been negotiated. The signing of the Deed of Settlement will signal the end of the negotiation process. 
4. Legislation The Crown will write new legislation for the Deed of Settlement to be formally enacted into New Zealand legislation. The final proposed legislation is then approved by the Minister for Treaty Settlements.

The enactment of the legislation concludes the Crown process for the Settlement Process and the Crown will then transfer all of the agreed Redress Package to Ngati Kuta through our Te Whakaaetanga Alliance entity.  

If you would like more details about the Claims process, please see ‘The Red Book‘, which is the government’s guide to the Treaty Claims and Settlements process.

Below is a diagram from Page 35 of this document, which visually shows the process step by step.