Divisions surface over Hōteo

A legal case to determine who owns the Hōteo River riverbed got off to a shaky start in the Maori Land Court in Whangarei on August 7.

The court is being asked to determine whether the riverbed is Māori customary land and, if it is, whose customary land it is – Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust is seeking an order that they are the guardians of the bed upstream of the Tarakihi Falls, while iwi Te Runanga Ngāti Whatua are claiming customary ownership over the entire length of the river.

During a teleconference with Judge Miharo Armstrong, of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, lawyers for the two parties disagreed over whether the case should proceed in one stage or two – stage one, to determine that the riverbed was Māori customary land and stage two, to determine ownership.

Lawyer Mai Chen, for Ngati Whatua, argued that a single stage approach would be more efficient and cost-effective. This was supported by the Attorney General’s office. “If there is a conversation needed, so we are clear about which parts of the Hōteo River that Ngati Whatua has whenua over as opposed to Manuhiri, then that needs to be done up-front because of the ongoing queries by the Crown,” she said.

She asked the court to adjourn proceedings so that the two applicants could engage in a tikanga [customary practices] process to resolve issues concerning ownership. “This has to do with pragmatism, efficiency and effectiveness in terms of the use of court time,” Chen said.

Chen feared that because there was so much crossover between the two stages, too much time would be wasted determining whether something should be discussed in stage one or stage two.

Crown Law counsel Damen Ward said the Attorney General’s concern was that in the Statement of Claim, there were various statements about tikanga and about the nature of the application that were framed in a “very general and high level way”.

“The Attorney is entitled to know the material elements of the claim,” he said.

“Where it says that the land is held in accordance with tikanga Māori, we say the application should set out the material elements of that tikanga.”

He said the very stark distinction between stage one and stage two wasn’t going to be a viable basis for the proceedings. If the court had to consider whether particular transactions had had an extinguishing effect, then it might well be that tikanga points would be relevant.

However, Ngati Manuhiri counsel Jason Pou said the approach proposed by Ngati Whatua and the Crown was opposed “absolutely” by Ngati Manuhiri.

“Their approach starts from a position of terra nullius, which requires Ngati Manuhiri to forensically prove and identify all the tikanga associated with the river,” Pou said.

“The start point for Ngati Manuhiri, if I can say it in a somewhat flippant way, if there is one way that Aotearoa was described by all Māori prior to colonisation, that one word would have been ‘ours’,” Pou said.

“It is axiomatic that the river, its bed and the surrounds, prior to the signing of the treaty, were customary land.”

The court acknowledged that several landholders along the river were present at the teleconference and they were provided with the opportunity to speak.

One landholder said existing landowners did not want to be left out in the cold.

“We’ve bought land through the only process available, through the Crown,” he said. “We feel we have ownership of what we’ve purchased.”

In response, Pou assured them that the application was about the bed of the river and there was no intention to dispossess adjacent landowners.

The 28-kilometre river forms at the confluence of the Whangaripo and Waiwhiu streams, north-east of Wellsford, and is a tributary of the Kaipara Harbour.

The judge’s decision on how the case will proceed had not been released when Mahurangi Matters went to press.

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Barbecued ribs of beef with béarnaise sauce

2 separate rib steaks on the bone about 600g each roast potatoes glazed carrots with tarragon & chives and runner beans.

Bernaise Sauce

225g Butter

1 tbsp chopped Tarragon

2 Shallots finely chopped

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 egg yolks, freeze the whites for future use

To Make the Béarnaise Sauce, put the butter in a small pan over a very low heat and leave to melt. Skim off any scum from the surface and pour the clear (clarified) butter into a bowl, leaving behind the milky white solids that settle at the bottom. Tip the tarragon, shallots, vinegar, 1 tbsp water and ½ tsp black pepper into another small pan and boil rapidly until the liquid has reduced to 1 tbsp. Put the egg yolks and 1 tbsp water in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl isn’t touching the water, and whisk vigorously until voluminous and creamy. Remove the bowl from the pan and gradually whisk in the clarified butter until you have a thick, creamy sauce. Stir in the tarragon and shallot reduction and season with salt. Scrape into a serving bowl and keep warm in the oven on a low heat. Season the ribs well on both sides with Salt and Pepper. On a hot Barbecue cook the meat for 9-10 mins on each side for rare (it should read about 55C on a meat thermometer) or 11-13 mins each side for medium-rare (60-65C). Remove and leave to rest for 10 mins. To serve, cut off the bone and carve the meat into long, thin slices. Serve with the béarnaise sauce, potatoes, carrots and runner beans. Enjoy