Treaty Settlements

The Treaty Settlement Process

 There are four key stages in a Treaty settlement.

STAGE ONE:

Pre-negotiation

The claimant group chooses people to represent them in negotiations. This involves:

  • Mandating process – the claimants vote on the entity that will represent them in negotiations (COMPLETE)
  • Signing the Deed of Mandate – the Crown must recognise the mandate before negotiations begin (COMPLETE)
  • Choosing negotiators – the mandated group decides which individuals will lead its negotiations (COMPLETE)
  • Signing Terms of Negotiation – between the Crown and the mandated representatives (COMPLETE)

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STAGE TWO:

Negotiation

The representatives and the Crown negotiate the settlement. This involves key milestones along the way:

  • Signing an Agreement in Principle (AIP) – the framework for the settlement (COMPLETE – View)
  • Ratification process – voting on the Post-Settlement Governance Entity (PSGE)
  • Initialling a Deed of Settlement (iDOS) – the draft content of the settlement
  • Ratification process – voting on the proposed Deed of Settlement.

 

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STAGE THREE:

Legislation

If ‘sufficient support’ is received, the settlement goes through the law-making process. The process is:

  • The settlement is introduced to Parliament as a Bill.
  • The Bill goes to the Māori Affairs Select Committee and is open for public submissions
  • The Bill goes through the Second and Third Readings in Parliament, and receives the Royal Assent, becoming law (the Settlement Act)
  • The claimant group receives a letter confirming that the settlement has been made law and is complete

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STAGE FOUR:

Implementation

The Crown and the claimant group work together to make sure everything agreed in the Deed of Settlement happens.
This includes:

  • Final steps in the set-up of the Post-Settlement Governance Entity (PSGE) and Trust Deed, and the election of trustees (usually while the legislation stage is underway)
  • The redress package is transferred to the PSGE within an agreed amount of time, usually 40 working days after the settlement becomes law
  • All other arrangements detailed in the agreement are implemented
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