Waimakuku Deed of Agreement |
| Date: | 20 December 1995 | |
| Sub Category: | Deed of Settlement (New Zealand) |
| Place: | Tarawera |
| State/Country: | Aotearoa - New Zealand |
| Payments: | Compensation - New Zealand Government ($375,000) |
| Subject Matter: | Compensation | Land Settlement | Land Use | Recognition of Native Title or Traditional Ownership | Recognition of Traditional Rights and Interests |
| URL: | http://nz01.terabyte.co.nz/ots/DocumentLibrary/Waimakuku.htm | |
| Summary Information: | |
| This Deed of Agreement settles the claim advanced by the Waimakuku Whanau Trust Board Incorporated (the ‘Trust’) on behalf of the descendents of Thomas Baker. It was alleged that the Crown breached the Treaty of Waitangi by revoking a grant of title to Thomas Baker. The settlement provides for redress in the form of an apology by the Crown and a payment of $375,000 for the benefit of the descendents of Thomas Baker.
A Deed of Settlement is reached once a claim has been registered with the Waitangi Tribunal and has completed the settlement process of negotiation, ratification and execution, and in most circumstances, is accompanied by a statute implementing the settlement. For more detailed information, see 'Deed of Settlement' below.
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| Detailed Information: | |
| Background
The Trust initiated the claim before the Waitangi Tribunal in 1990, alleging that the Crown ‘unjustly overturned’ the title it held to certain land in 1929. The title had been reinstated in 1970 but without any compensation for the loss of the title for the intervening years. The Trust sought compensation for loss of the title, the improvements to the land, the opportunity to develop the land and exploit timber resources, as well as for stress and the costs of seeking to have the title returned and compensation paid.
The negotiations for this Deed commenced in 1992. The Trust agrees that this Deed will settle its claims and release the Crown from liability in respect of those claims. The Trust and the Crown accept that the settlement is ‘fair, final and durable’ despite the fact that it cannot compensate the full extent of the loss.
It is noted that the Housing Corporation of New Zealand sought to deduct an amount from the settlement equivalent to arrears owed to it under a mortgage agreement with the Trust. The Crown and the Trust agreed to keep the Housing Corporation dispute separate from this settlement.
Redress
The Crown apologises for breaching the Waitangi Treaty by overturning the Trust’s freehold title to certain land in 1929. The Crown agrees to pay $375,000 to the Trust for the benefit of the descendents of Thomas Baker.
Signatories
Susan Henrietta Baker and Albert Thomas Charles Baker affixed the common seal of the Waimakuku Whanau Trust Board Incorporated pursuant to a resolution of the trustees. The Deed was signed by the Honourable Douglas Graham on behalf of the Crown.
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| Outcomes: | |
| The Trust subsequently filed other claims before the Waitangi Tribunal. The Tribunal found that these later claims were either encompassed by this Agreement or not substantiated. In the Mohaka ki Ahuriri Report (2004) the Tribunal was critical of the 'loose' terms in which this Agreement was framed. It also noted that this claim and the subsequent claims were unusual because they were based on freehold title rather than traditional ownership and because they were advanced by one whanau (family group) rather than a larger hapu or iwi. | |
