A hapū trust in Horowhenua is calling on the Crown to negotiate a standalone Treaty settlement for land it hasn’t been able to access for more than 146 years.
Following interviews conducted by Taiuru News reporter Te Kakenga Kawiti-Bishara, the Kōpūtara Trust represents five hapū of Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga: Ngāti Parewahawaha, Ngāti Pareraukawa, Ngāti Kikopiri, Ngāti Tūranga, and Ngāti Tukorehe.
All five hapū are seeking a separate redress for the 139-hectare Kōpūtara block near Foxton Beach, rather than having its claim, Wai 2200, addressed through broader Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga settlement negotiations.
A standalone settlement would allow the trust to seek compensation for its grievances, secure permanent physical access to the land, and fund the restoration of the lake and surrounding wetlands.
Progress has stalled
The block was legally classified as Māori freehold land and has never been covered by a finalised Treaty settlement with the Crown.
Kōpūtara Trust Chair Pat Seymour says the lack of official updates has created uncertainty for uri.
“It doesn’t make us feel good, I mean we haven’t been updated. I know it’s election year and so forth, but we haven’t been updated as to what’s going on now,” says Seymour.
In the Kōpūtara Priority Report (Wai 2200), released in March 2024, the Waitangi Tribunal found the claim to be well-founded. It found that the Crown repeatedly breached Treaty principles through administrative neglect, failure to secure legal access, and environmental mismanagement.
The report identified that the Crown failed to issue formal legal title for the Kōpūtara reserve for nearly a century after promising it in 1870, leaving owners without recognised legal status over their own land until 1964.
Furthermore, by granting surrounding land to private parties and a railway company without reserving public access roads, the Crown legally and physically isolated the reserve, preventing hapū from accessing Lake Kōpūtara.
The Tribunal also highlighted severe environmental degradation, including military artillery testing, sand drift damage, and regional drainage schemes which severely degraded the lake ecosystem and destroyed customary tuna (eel) habitats.
To address these historical breaches, the tribunal recommended that the Crown enter direct negotiations with the Kōpūtara Trust.
Kōpūtara trustee, Te Tumatakuru O’Connell, says Te Tiriti o Waitangi must be central to implementing the findings.
“Me pēhea e haere tahi ai tēnei whenua katoa ki te kore e whakamanahia Te Tiriti O Waitangi? Koinei te tūāpapa,” says O’Connell.
He says the government’s response has been insufficient, given the detailed directions in the Tribunal’s priority report.
“Ko te āhua o te Kāwanatanga nei, kāre i te aro, e taringa turi ana. Nā reira, ka tae ki the hōhā, nā te mea kua tahi rau rima tekau tau e tatari ana kia whakataungia ngā take e pā ana ki tēnei whenua.”
Over 150-Year Timeline from the Waitangi Tribunal Report
Before the Kōpūtara Trust brought its claim to the Waitangi Tribunal in 2021, the issues had remained unresolved for generations.
Based on the Kōpūtara Priority Report (Wai 2200), the historical background spans over 150 years of administrative history and government decisions.
1864–1874: The Crown acquires the Rangitīkei-Manawatū block, setting aside an eel-fishing reserve at Kōpūtara for non-selling hapū, later expanded to 345 acres to cover surrounding wetlands.
1882–1886: Official ownership is confirmed, but the government omits paperwork, leaving the land unissued as Crown property.
1890: Surrounding lands are granted to a private railway company without access roads, leaving Kōpūtara landlocked.
1905–1930s: Hapū seek to maintain access to Lake Kōpūtara for food gathering amid trespass warnings, police enforcement, and settler disputes.
1940s–1950s: The NZ Army uses the reserve for live-fire maneuvers, contributing to sand drifts, while regional drainage schemes alter local stream flows.
1969: The Kōpūtara Trust is established to unify five claimant hapū.
1998–2016: A High Court consent order in 1998 establishes legal right-of-way access, followed by community-led restoration work clearing physical access in 2016
Letter to the Ministers
Following the publication of the Tribunal’s priority report, Kōpūtara Trust Chairman Pat Seymour wrote to Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith and Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka on 18 December 2024.
The Trust formally requested a meeting in early 2025 to begin discussions on a timely resolution, emphasising that their 150-year-old grievance requires direct, standalone negotiations rather than being merged into a long-term regional queue.
While the Trust expressed support for ongoing discussions regarding the potential purchase of adjoining land to secure physical access to Lake Kōpūtara, Minister Paul Goldsmith responded on 12 February 2025, declining standalone talks.
Minister Goldsmith stated that the Crown’s official response to the Tribunal’s recommendations would instead be addressed during future comprehensive settlement negotiations for Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga.
Te Ao Māori News requested further comment from both Minister Goldsmith and Minister Potaka regarding the Trust’s continued calls for immediate, independent remediation.
Neither minister has responded before this article was published.
Community Restoration Efforts
While formal negotiations remain pending, community members are continuing ecological restoration work on the land.
“Kei te kaha tā mātau akiaki whakahau ki te Karauna, ēngari kāre e noho noa ana ki te amuamu. Kei konei e mahi tahi ana me te hapori o konei,” says O’Connell.
The Trust’s long-term goals include maintaining the land for future generations, and reconnecting whānau with the land through ecological projects.
“Mō tēnei whenua, heoi anō mō te whānau, mō ngā iwi tokorima nei whānui atu i tēnā, kia noho tēnā hei puna ora, hei puna kai, hei puna tangata mō te iwi, mō te motu.”
The standoff between the ministers and the trust is still ongoing, with broader national discussions regarding potential statutory changes to the Waitangi Tribunal.
