Ngāi Te Rangi chief executive Dr Paora Stanley has called on iwi members to maintain peaceful methods while requesting that the Crown respond to the iwi’s position regarding its longstanding Treaty settlement dispute.
“I am deeply concerned by calls for damage to government property and Port of Tauranga assets, and I am asking our people not to turn their anger into violence or destruction,” Dr Stanley said.
The appeal follows discussions within Ngāi Te Rangi, where some members suggested damaging infrastructure. Dr Stanley stated that declining confidence in official engagement processes prompted those suggestions, leading him to speak publicly.
“These calls concern me deeply because I fear some of our people are losing confidence that peaceful engagement will ever produce a fair response, and I do not want that frustration becoming action that puts anyone in danger,” he said.
“I reject calls for violence and destruction, and I ask those making them to step back and consider the consequences for our whānau and the future we are working to build. Our people have every right to challenge the Crown, protest peacefully and defend our mana whenua, but damaging property or endangering lives is a path I am asking them not to take.”
Dr Stanley linked the internal tensions to broader public debates regarding government policy and engagement with affected communities.
“In my view, this unease extends beyond Māori, with people from different backgrounds questioning how this Government exercises its power and responds to communities affected by its decisions,” he said. “When people believe reasonable requests can be repeatedly dismissed, confidence in peaceful processes is weakened, and that should concern everyone who wants a safe and fair society.”
He also referenced comments made in November 2024 by former Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley regarding the Treaty Principles Bill, in which she warned that placing the Treaty into a comprehensive political framework was “inviting civil war.”
“Our settlement dispute is a separate matter, but that warning about division should have prompted serious reflection about the importance of protecting trust between Māori and the Crown,” Dr Stanley said. “I am speaking now because I want to prevent harm, and because leadership means confronting these concerns before anger becomes something we cannot undo.”
The dispute involves Crown redress offered to Hauraki iwi within Tauranga Moana, which Ngāi Te Rangi contends affects the mana whenua of Tauranga Moana iwi, including Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pūkenga. In December 2019, the Waitangi Tribunal determined that the Crown acted inconsistently with Treaty principles by failing to conduct an adequate overlapping claims process regarding the proposed Hauraki redress.
Ngāi Te Rangi is seeking written confirmation from the Crown that the Hauraki settlement will not compromise Tauranga Moana mana whenua.
“We want to settle and move forward with confidence that the mana whenua of Tauranga Moana will be respected and protected, and we are asking the Crown to put that assurance in writing,” Dr Stanley said. “That would provide a credible basis for moving forward, rather than leaving our people facing the same unresolved concerns and questioning whether the Government intends to address them.”
Dr Stanley noted that Ngāi Te Rangi had proposed setting aside the contested redress to allow the remainder of the settlement to proceed, an approach the Crown declined.
“Our people deserve to put their energy into strengthening our whānau, supporting our tamariki and building opportunities, rather than carrying this unresolved dispute into another generation,” he said.
“My message to our people is to remain peaceful and hold firmly to our kaupapa, because our responsibility to those who come after us must guide what we do today. My message to the Government is to respond constructively to our reasonable requests and help restore confidence in a peaceful resolution, because appeals for patience must be matched by meaningful action.”