The Priority Report of the Whakatohea Settlement Process : WAI 1750

This report on the Whakatohea settlement process addresses the two sets of issues set set down for inquiry in July this year The hearings took place between 10-13 September 2021 Whakatohea have significant Treaty grievances, including the Crown’s waging of war against them and raupatu (confiscation) These have been acknowledged in previous settlements and Tribunal reports as among the worst Treaty breaches in this country’s history The failure of the attempt to settle Whakatohea’s Treaty claims in the 1990s has left a legacy of division which was in part reflected in the claims brought in 2017 about the Crown’s recognition of the Whakatohea Pre-Settlement Claims Trust’s mandate The report on those claims in 2018, the Wai 2662 Whakatohea Mandate Inquiry Report, found that the Crown had breached the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in recognising the mandate (including its faulty withdrawal mechanism) The Wai 2662 Tribunal recommended a fresh vote with hapu affiliations recorded so that the will of the Whakatohea hapu could be tested on the best way forward This is because Whakatohea decision-making is traditionally hapu-driven, and the 20