Koha paid to iwi for consent to instal water bores on private land
Another woman said that koha payments are not recorded by Councils, even though they can be compulsory under the Councils' terms of operation.
Source: Ryan Wood: SunLive, 13 June, 2018: https://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/181863-koha-and-apartheid-discussed-at-mp-meeting.html
Numerous issues arise from the need for property owners to consult with tribal trusts, these include:
- What services do tribal trusts provide in order to receive "koha" from property owners?
- Are tribal trusts legally or de facto in a position to prevent property owners from obtaining Council consent for drilling water bores or other activities?
- How much do property owners pay iwi/hapu in koha, and are these koha recorded and tax deductible by property owners?
Dr Nick Smith - "this is an invitation for backhanders"
New Zealanders will pay more for their electricity and have less security of supply as a result of Maori spiritual arguments over the Resource Management Act, says National's Environment spokesman Nick Smith.
He is commenting on yesterday's Environment Court decision that will allow power generator Genesis to use water from the Whanganui River for only a further 10 years.
"It is political correctness gone mad when key decisions on infrastructure are made on the basis that diverting the Whanganui River for hydro development will adversely affect Maori spiritual beliefs and self-esteem," Dr Smith says.
"Maori families struggle to pay their power bills like everyone else, and keeping their children warm at a reasonable cost is far more important than any spiritual attachment to water hundreds of kilometres away.
"This decision is also concerning in that it invites Maori and Genesis to have 'a meeting of the minds' over the next 10 years to resolve the future use of the water. This is an invitation for backhanders, given the huge value of electricity and the leverage that Whanganui iwi will have over Genesis.
"It highlights the urgent need to reform the Resource Management Act. We have seen roads diverted for the taniwha and now electricity generation is being compromised because of Maori spirits.
"This will send a further shiver down the spine of the electricity industry, which cannot invest with any certainty with this length of consent," Dr Smith says.
Source: Scoop Independent News: Press Release New Zealand National Party, Tuesday 25 May 2004
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0405/S00515/folly-of-maori-spiritual-argument-highlighted.htm
Undue Influence: New Zealand’s Tribal Corruption Charter
Corruption takes different forms in different nations. In New Zealand the Race Based Laws which grant legal privilege to Maori individuals and tribal entities have resulted in a form of corruption, the undue influence of Maori tribal entities upon New Zealand’s governance, economy and society.
Since 1975, this undue influence has resulted in an expanding cycle of “legalised” extortion, a "virtual Tribal Corruption Charter" through which wealthy, litigious tribal trusts can employ their special legal status as a mechanism to gain additional legal rights and powers, financial gain to individuals (mainly tribal trustees and employees) and tribal entities.
The ability of Maori individuals and groups to lodge claims with the Waitangi Tribunal that they have been prejudiced, in conjunction with an increasingly radicalised Maori electorate, also exerts undue influence on governments seeking policy reform, as governments quietly pay sweeteners to tribal groups to avoid protracted litigation and maintain internal support from Maori electorate MPs.
As many of the Race Based Laws are indirect in influence (eg the right to be consulted on an environmental application rather than the power to refuse consent), tribal entities often resort to implied threats of litigation and delay. As voiced by one tribal trust:
“It says the first rule on consent application is to “object”. The second rule on consent application is “object”. If in doubt go back to rule one (objection gives time, time is of no importance to us, only the application) it says. The first rule of objection is to claim lack of consultation, the document states. The second is the Treaty of Waitangi, the RMA is the third, and the fourth “anything anyone can think of”. Results would not be measured in dollars, “but the sum of the good that can be gained for the hapu”.(1)
The result of this undue influence of tribal entities is massive costs, both direct and indirect, imposed upon government ministries and agencies, local government, business and individuals. (2),(3)
Direct costs to business and individuals include costs for "soft" payments to tribal entities, unwanted and unnecessary cultural consultancy and advisory services, regulatory complexity, legal fees and delay. The wider economy must also be damaged as individuals and businesses simply walk away from both scientific endeavour and business opportunities.
Indirect costs for the operation of parallel institutions, separate Maori seats, Maori wards, the Waitangi Tribunal, the Maori Courts and co-governance etc flow to individuals and business through increased taxes, rates and charges. In some instances, undue influence fosters criminal corruption which may or may not be reported to authorities.
The following entries, which document instances of only a tiny fraction of the undue influence exerted by tribal entities over the last forty years, illustrate how tribal rights are damaging not only our economy but the nation's social fabric through the normalisation of New Zealand's peculiar form of constitutional corruption.
Please contact admin@hobsonspledge.nz if you have verifiable examples of undue influence that you would like to be included on this page.
$1.15 million (plus GST) to Kaitiaki Group as condition of consent to dredge harbour
Northland Regional Council has granted resource consent to Refining New Zealand to dredge the entrance to Whangarei Harbour.
Koha paid for consent to drill water bores on private land
To get a bore you have to get iwi consent, and they want a koha, which is not a gift, it's a bribe" one woman stated.
Confidential agreement to pay $880,500 to Runanga to withdraw objection to wastewater scheme
Spiritual values and placating taniwha
Iwi consultation - over a barrel
Hong Kong based water bottling company approaches Ngati Paarau for "support and partnership"
One Pure, owned by Hong Kong based corporation Hon Lung International, with the capital and expertise to build a massive water bottling facility, felt the need to approach Hawke’s Bay tribal entity Ngati Paarau[i] for “support and partnership [ii]” in their endeavour. Why?
Waikato prison consultation costs $1.3 million
Genesis Energy - soft coercion
"Through regular engagement and funding provided by Genesis Energy, the parties seek to deliver the broad objectives of developing a long term relationship, assisting Marae development, fostering cultural understanding, supporting the kaitiaki role of the Marae and enhancing the environment and supporting education and training initiatives".
Businessman requires consent of 13 iwi to reinstate shop window
"We were then told that under the new Draft Unitary Plan, not yet enacted, our building being within 50 metres of a designated Maori heritage site, we needed RMA approval (for a new shop window, for God’s sake), this instantly forthcoming at a cost of $4500 plus the approval of 13 iwi".
Holcim Land Held Sacred by Waitaha
Waitaha (te Runanga O Waitaha Me Mata Waka Inc) appeal against the granting of RMA consents by Waitaki District and Otago Regional Councils, claiming the Councils had failed in their resource consents process to apply the Treaty of waitangi, Resource Management Act, New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and Local Government Act.
Hon. Dr Nick Smith - this is an invitation for backhanders
"This decision is also concerning in that it invites Maori and Genesis to have 'a meeting of the minds' over the next 10 years to resolve the future use of the water. This is an invitation for backhanders, given the huge value of electricity and the leverage that Whanganui iwi will have over Genesis.
Ngati Kura Wheel Clamp extortion
Members of iwi Ngati Kura clamp four cars at Matauri Bay and clamp four cars belonging to students on the beach for a surfing lesson.
Sources:
(1) Ngati Puu: Christchurch Press, 12th March 2003; quoted on Dr Nick Smith: Hansard Parliamentary Debates: resource-management-amendment-bill-no-2-—-first-reading; http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20030320_00001026/resource-management-amendment-bill-no-2-%E2%80%94-first-reading
(2) Round, D --- "Here Be Dragons?" [2005] OtaLawRw 3; (2005) 11 Otago Law Review 31
(3) Ministerial Panel on Business Compliance costs, which identified that the RMA was a significant cost to business due to:
• Inconsistency in interpretation
• Lack of capacity in local government
• Time delays
• Difficulties in meeting obligations to Maori
Genesis Energy engages with marae
From one of a myriad of examples of soft coersion:
“The signing of a Relationship Agreement between Genesis Energy and six Huntly Marae and the Huntly based Waahi Whaanui Trust was the culmination of five years of engagement and dialogue. The agreement records the parties’ intention to establish an enduring, positive and beneficial relationship which directly addresses the effects of the Huntly Power Station on local Marae, while recognising the Huntly Power Station is a key strategic asset for Genesis Energy and New Zealand. Through regular engagement and funding provided by Genesis Energy, the parties seek to deliver the broad objectives of developing a long term relationship, assisting Marae development, fostering cultural understanding, supporting the kaitiaki role of the Marae and enhancing the environment and supporting education and training initiatives”.
Source: Genesis Energy Ltd Annual Report 2010: https://www.genesisenergy.co.nz/documents/10180/14637/Annual+Report+2009-2010/92fce4ae-f2aa-4dff-925f-daaa05037b77 : Pg 5
Bob Jones on Auckland Council's cultural impact requirements
Sir Bob Jones writes:
Recently, a shop tenancy changed in a modern 17-storey Auckland CBD office building owned by my company. The previous tenant had blocked off some of its window which we now intended putting back to the conventional shop front.
At this stage, sit down with a stiff drink and accept my assurance I’m not making this up.
For we were then informed by a planner my Auckland office uses for council dealings (which can be laborious) that under the new council rules, changes to a building’s appearance require resource consent and we would be subject to penalty if we simply put back the window.
If that’s not outrageously absurd enough, things then became truly Kafkaesque and illustrate why the Government, against ill-considered opposition parties’ objections, wishes to tone down the Resource Management Act.
For we were then told that under the new Draft Unitary Plan, not yet enacted, our building being within 50 metres of a designated Maori heritage site, we needed RMA approval (for a new shop window, for God’s sake), this instantly forthcoming at a cost of $4500 plus the approval of 13 iwi.
$4,500 for a new window!
The council refused to advise the addresses of these iwi outfits, yet added that without their consent, we can’t put back the window.
So the planner located then wrote to the 13 iwi, ranging from Taranaki to Whangarei.
Five replied stating they had no concerns while others said they were considering the matter, presumably calling huis to weigh up this window crisis.
Unbelievable.
One respondent bearing that fine old Maori name of Jeff Lee, representing something called Ngai Tai Ki Tamaki, contacted the planner.
Look up their website if you have tolerance for Maori “sacred footstep in the earth” guff, although it’s 100 per cent on the mark with its proclamation: “Our vision is only limited by our imagination.”
I’m sceptical about Mr Lee’s vision but have no doubt about his imagination, for after advising the planners verbally that no Cultural Impact Assessment Report was required for the window, he nevertheless asked them to consider it – brace yourselves – given his ancestors, centuries ago, gathered in the vicinity.
Lee then wrote, outlining his terms for “assessing the window’s cultural impact” which, he said, would take him “a total of six to eight hours”.
For this he sought $90 per hour plus GST and “travel expenses of 0.77c p/km.”
Very reasonable!
The council has designated 61 sites across Auckland and nominated 3600 others “of interest”. Undertake earthworks (swimming pool, building foundations, a shed etc) within 50m of a scheduled site and one must engage (pay) iwi.
None are of Stonehenge moment but instead claptrap such as “our ancestors beached canoes nearby” and the “feather-gathering” ilk.
A candidate for Mayor in 2016 should pledge to get rid of this nonsense, and they’ll win in a landslide. Shane Jones attacked the policy when he was an MP as political correctness gone mad or something like it. It does nothing for actual cultural heritage – it is simply a massive compliance cost.
See also:
Source: Sir Bob Jones “Bureaucrats Wallowing in Cultural Correctness”; New Zealand Herald, 9 September 2014: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11321027
Dr Nick Smith attacks RMA corruption
“the third point I want to make is a broader question. It is in respect of the Resource Management Act. At the weekend we saw reported what I think is a very sad development for New Zealand. This country takes great pride in being a corruption-free country, a country where things are done upfront.
We saw through the resource management process, a payment to Tainui of over $1 million. On exactly the same day the deal was drafted, an Environment Court Appeal was withdrawn. We are to believe that it is a co-incidence that the funding agreement just happens to expire on 1 January 2023, the day that the resource consent expires. This is a very sad reflection on Carter Holt Harvey. It is a sad reflection on Tainui. I believe that there are dozens of such cases. The only thing that is unique about this one is that it was reported because of the internal wrangles within Tainui” .
Dr Nick Smith, June 13 2001
Sources:
1. New Zealand Hansard archives: Wednesday, June 13 2001; Dr Nick Smith: Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Amendment Bill: Third Reading http://www.vdig.net/hansard/archive.jsp?y=2001&m=06&d=13&o=70&p=74
Spiritual values and placating taniwha
In some situations, consenting authorities and courts are required to deliberate on the effects of a matter on tribal “spiritual values”. The courts have accepted that ancestral land is land that has been "owned" by ancestors (i.e. it need not have remained in Māori ownership). Generally, once a relationship with Maori is recognised, consultation is imperative.
A Maori official “assisting” the Auckland Council preparing a billion dollar under-water rail tunnel told Council that the proposed route would trespass upon the territory of “horotiu” the taniwha (ancestral demon) The official noted to the Committee “there are always ways to placate taniwha”.
Sources:
Round, D --- "Here Be Dragons?" [2005] OtaLawRw 3; (2005) 11 Otago Law Review 31
http://www.nzlii.org/nz/journals/OtaLawRw/2005/3.html
See also: "Horotiu the Taniwha Stirs" David Round: https://www.nzcpr.com/horotiu-the-taniwha-stirs/
Greenpeace: Oil company may be bribing iwi
“Greenpeace is concerned that an oil company with an exploration licence off Northland may be bribing iwi leaders to bolster support for their controversial drilling plans. Greenpeace has taken a picture of three executives from Norwegian oil giant Statoil meeting with an Iwi leader at a Wellington cafe.
Campaigner Mike Smith said it goes against the Norwegian government's protocols specifying that consultation must be done through appropriate procedures and representative institutions. He said it's an effort to win over individual iwi leaders rather than engaging collectively. "They've got clear instructions from the Norwegian government that they should only deal with institutions and mandated representatives, that's our main concern."
Sources:
[1] http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/greenpeace-oil-company-may-be-bribing-iwi/
Objection dropped in return for royalties
1998: Ngati Wai object to plans to take 2 million cu m of sand from the seabed off Pakiri Beach over 35 years.
2001: The tribe drops its objection one day before the hearing after accepting an offer from Kaipara Ltd to pay it 50c for every cubic metre of sand extracted up to $1 million.
Iwi consultation - over a barrel
The Chair of the District Plan Review Committee …emphasised “over and over was that they were “over a barrel”, and that to refuse to adopt the recommendation that $20,000 be put aside for ‘consultation’ with the eight iwi members of the “collective”…. would surely trigger an appeal to the Environment/High Court on the grounds of inadequate consultation, which the iwi would undoubtedly win”… The Councillor’s final swipe “was to suggest that it was her view that there was no way that the iwi would be satisfied with $20,000, and that it would “grow in time”…. It took some pretty stern talking .. to bring them back to their senses, and go along with the “blackmail” (“Peanuts for Peace” was his terminology – not bad!).
Thames-Coromandel District Council
Sources:
BillBarcBlog Thames Coromandel Comment: Iwi Engagement on District Plan; Friday, December 14, 2012;
http://billbarc.squarespace.com/billbarclayconz/2012/12/14/iwi-engagement-on-district-plan.html