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Content Partner: Lincoln University. This publication has responded to the Ministry for the Environment's call for research into methods for resolving conflict and models of partnership that are appropriate to Maori requirements and are conducive to iwi development and involvement in resource management. The Resource Management Act 1991 requires that those with functions and duties under the Act consult with the tangata whenua, and that they take account of the the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Environmental mediation specifically has been developed and practised in North America over the past 15 years or so. Environmental mediation is an informal, non-adversial approach to resolving conflict, and parties participate voluntarily. They are free to create their own process and their own final agreement. Parties are encouraged to concentrate on what they value or their interests, rather than on positions. The studies demonstrated both positive and negative factors from an iwi perspective. Maori parties were given ample opportunities to express their views during mediated disputes. Those with negotiating experience, knowledge of the issues or an awareness of a good alternative to mediation felt empowered in the process. However, the absence of a 'level playing field' in the broader societal context was also apparent. Diversity of interest is more likely to be recognised in non-Maori rather than Maori concerns. Access to information was not equal for all parties nor were the resources available for participation. Enormous sums of money appeared to be available to bring scientific and technical information to the mediation setting whereas iwi representatives bringing cultural or vii spiritual information to the negotiating table did not have access to funds. Processes were driven by Crown agencies and this did not assist Maori groups to advocate their own interests in the way they wished, or to empower them. Participation tended to be reactive rather than proactive. Tribal concerns were sometimes subsumed by other concerns. Recommendations arising from the research are as follows. 1. Investigate the feasibility of establishing a nationalised conflict resolution information service for iwi. 2. Investigate the feasibility of establishing a regional and local service that offers independent advice to iwi on conflict resolution. 3. Investigate means by which people can find out the grounds on which Maori groups are claiming the right to participate, and the nature of that right. 4. Prepare a guide for iwi on opportunities for participation in resource management decision making that are provided in legislation. 5. Investigate potential sources of funding to enable iwi to participate effectively in environmental mediation. 6. Investigate changes that are needed in the Resource Management Act to ensure Maori effectiveness in mediation. 7. Prepare guides on mediation for agencies and individuals that interface with iwi e.g. government departments, regional councils, local authorities, consent use applicants, mediators etc. 8. Investigate methods of cross-cultural environmental information exchange in New Zealand, Canada and Australia. The findings of this publication are directed specifically at iwi.

The UN declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a deeply significant document. In 2007, then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described its signing as an "historic moment when UN Member States and indigenous peoples reconciled with their painful histories and resolved to move forward together on the path of human rights, justice and development for all". This book reflects on the tenth anniversary of the UN General Assembly's adoption of the Declaration and examines its relevance in New Zealand. It shows the strong alignment between the Treaty of Waitangi and the Declaration, and examines how the Declaration assists the interpretation and application of Treaty principles of partnership, protection and participation. Starting from a range of viewpoints and disciplines, the authors agree that in Aotearoa New Zealand the journey to full implementation is now well underway, but warn that greater political leadership, willpower, resources and a stronger government commitment is needed.

"Negotiating a claim before the Waitangi Tribunal can involve troubling challenges to an iwi's legitimacy, sometimes from unexpected places. In this unique behind-the-scenes account of the negotiation of Ngāi Tahu's Waitangi Tribunal claim, Sir Tipene O'Regan describes what happened when claims of New Age mysticism attempted to undermine traditional whakapapa and academic scholarship"--Publisher information.

"There is perhaps no issue in New Zealand today more contentious than water rights. The Crown claims that no one owns water, but its use, irrigation and treatment are controlled by local governments empowered by the Crown. Since the 1990s resource consents for the taking of water, in Canterbury and Southland especially, have increased dramatically and the environmental situation is reaching a breaking point. After years of discussion some kind of system regarding the ownership of water is inevitable. In Water Rights for Ngāi Tahu, Te Maire Tau considers the historical and political framework that has contributed to the current state of water rights in the Ngāi Tahu takiwā. He explores the customary, legal and Treaty frameworks that feed into the debate regarding the ownership of water. From 1844 to 1864 the Crown purchased more than 34.5 million acres of land from Ngāi Tahu, but in most purchase deeds water is not mentioned. How does this play into claims to water? Should the Treaty be relied upon? How far can kaitiakitanga take us if the goal is mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga? In this short book Te Maire Tau lays out the historical background and context to water rights, and opens a discussion about where to proceed next in determining a Ngāi Tahu position on water."--Back cover.

The State of Maori Rights brings together a set of articles written between 1994 and 2009. It places on record the Maori view of events and issues that took place over these years, issues that have been more typically reported to the general public from a 'mainstream' media perspective. It is an important documentation of these fifteen years of New Zealand history, recording the assertion of Maori rights as the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, focusing on Maori issues and experiences and written from a Maori perspective.

"This book describes the iwi of Ngāti Kahu through the traditions and histories of each of the sixteen hapū, told by kuia and kaumātua and kept alive for future generations. These include histories of poverty, deprivation and marginalisation at the hands of the Crown, and loss of lands of the iwi. The book examines the range of techniques used by the Crown to justify its actions and the way these laid the groundwork for continuing injustices. The remedies needed to redress these injustices and achieve reconciliation of Ngāti Kahu and the Crown are set out. These include constitutional change to achieve the restoration of political, social and economic well-being to Ngāti Kahu, Crown relinquishment of all Ngāti Kahu lands to their rightful owners and payment of sufficient compensation to ensure no further Treaty of Waitangi claims. This history of Ngāti Kahu details the range of Crown actions against Ngāti Kahu to the current day, the effects of these actions on the people of Ngāti Kahu and the concerted and continuing efforts by Ngāti Kahu for remedies and reconciliation with the Crown"--Publisher information.

Over the past four decades, international indigenous rights have become a prominent aspect of international law and are now enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Yet, while endorsed by Aotearoa New Zealand in 2010, little remains known about how these standards came about, how the international movement that created them was established, and the implications of these standards on national reforms already protecting Māori rights. International Indigenous Rights in Aotearoa New Zealand seeks to answer these questions. This collection of essays places the Declaration in the context of New Zealand rights around such issues as Treaty settlements, mining policy and the status of Māori children. Crucially, it also asks how Māori can hold New Zealand to account against international indigenous rights.

For more than half a century, Keith Sorrenson - one of New Zealand's leading historians and himself of mixed Maori and Pakeha descent - has dived deeper than anyone into the story of two peoples in New Zealand. In this new book, Sorrenson brings together his major writing from the last 56 years into a powerful whole, covering topics from the origins of Maori (and Pakeha ideas about those origins), through land purchases and the King Movement of the nineteenth century, and on to twentieth-century politics and the new history of the Waitangi Tribunal.

Environmental Politics and Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand is a comprehensive introduction to confronting some of today's most urgent challenges. Global warming, threats to biodiversity, contamination of waterways and other environmental issues confront today's citizens with critical challenges that are fundamentally political. Power, authority and state action enable current practices - and through politics and policy that power can be harnessed to create a more ecologically sustainable planet. In this book, leading scholars from around Aotearoa introduce students to environmental politics and policy based in this country's unique institutional, cultural and resource context. The text focuses on the key importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the characteristics of the natural environment in Aotearoa and the role of gender dynamics in the distribution of power, before turning to how this unique setting informs and is, in turn, informed by the global context of environmental politics. The authors take a systemic view of environmental politics and governance in New Zealand, addressing the philosophical and ideational debates about who and what matters (both human and non-human), the political institutions that embed and enact these ideas, and how these ideas then manifest in particular arenas - from climate and freshwater to energy and farming. Practical tips - how to make a submission, organise a protest, write a policy brief or a press release - are woven throughout.