The Waitangi Tribunal has released the Hauraki Settlement overlapping claims inquiry report in pre-publication format. The report addresses four claims.

The Tribunal has found the Crown acted inconsistently with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi by failing to undertake a sufficient overlapping claims process concerning redress offered to Hauraki iwi as part of their proposed Treaty settlement.

For Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngātiwai whose interests overlap with Hauraki, the consequences have been profound. The Tribunal says the Crown’s actions created fresh grievances, fractured relationships and further delayed the settlement process.

The report resulted from an urgent hearing into claims brought by four iwi: Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāi Te Rangi (both iwi of Tauranga Moana), Ngātiwai (whose area of interest extends from the Bay of Islands to Matakana in Mahurangi, including several offshore islands) and Ngāti Porou ki Hauraki (whose key interests lie on the Tai Tamāhine coastline of the Hauraki district).