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Taikaha

Sonny Otene

Hinekaa Mako

Mike Smith

Indigenous Maori delegation to Norway from

Aotearoa, New Zealand, May 2015

Ko Ngatokimatawhaorua te waka

Ngatokimatawhaorua is the waka

Ko Te Angoango te maunga wairere

Te Angoango is the mountain waterfall

Ko Waikeri te awa

Waikeri is the river

Ko nga tai o te Uru te moana

The tides of the West are the waters

Ko Waikeri te urupa

Waikeri is the cemetery

Ko Te Hauhau te tangata

Te Hauhau is the ancestor

Te Rarawa te iwi

Te Rarawa is the tribe

Te Parewhero te hapu

Te Parewhero is the subtribe

Ko Pukeroa te whana

Pukeroa is the family

Ko Te Wani ahau.

I am Te Wani

Ko Aotea te Waka

Aotea is the Canoe

Ko Taikatu te Moana

Taikatu is the Sea

Ko Taranaki te Mounga

Taranaki is the Mountain

Ko Te Rere o Kapuni te Punawai

Te Rere o Kapuni is the Waterfall

Ko Kaupokonui te awa

Kaupokonui is the River

Ko Auroa te Papakainga

Auroa is the Village

Ko Ngaa Ruahine te iwi

Ngaa Ruahine are the People

Ko Maungaemiemi te maunga

Maungaemiemi is the mountain

Ko Pupuke te awa

Pupuke is the river

Ko Whaingaroa te moana

Whaingaroa is the ocean

Ko Te Huia te marae

Te Huia is the ancestral house

Ko Tahawai te Hapu

Tahawai is the family

Ko Ngapuhi raua ko Ngti Kahu oku iwi

Ngapuhi and Ngti Kahu are the people

Contents
Introduction to Aotearoa, New Zealand .........................................................................3
The Treaty of Waitangi and oil exploration .....................................................................5
Iwi response .................................................................................................................6
Letter to Sami Parliament of Norway ............................................................................7
The legal claim and a murky oil history ..........................................................................8
Climate change - the real catastrophe ..........................................................................10
Cover Tihaehae 2 and other artwork ataahua by Theresa Reihana.

Introduction to Aotearoa, New Zealand

The Polynesian Triangle showing: 1) Hawaii, 2) Aotearoa 3) Rapanui 4) Samoa, 5) Tahiti.

Maori are one branch of the family tree of Pasifika peoples,

and our territory encompasses the largest biosphere on earth
- the Pacific Ocean.

It is here that the two oceans Te Moana o Rehua and Te Tai

o Whitireia meet, in a great up-swelling of currents that are
rich with marine life.

We live in Te Moana nui a Kiwa, the Polynesian triangle

territory extending from Hawaii in the Northern Pacific,
Rapanui (Easter Islands) in the East, and Aotearoa (New
Zealand) in the South West Pacific.

It is here where the tribal home lands and seas of the

Ngti Kuri people lies, and they are the guardians of
this sacred area.
Te Rere i nga Wairua is recognised as a special place. It is
on the tentative list of UNESCO waiting to receive World
Heritage Site status.

At the northernmost tip of Aotearoa is Te Rere i nga Wairua.

Here lies the departing point of the spirits of our dead.
From here, we undertake the return journey to our ancestral
homeland, Hawaiki.

It is one of the most sacred sites in Aotearoa.

It is here, at the bottom of the cliff of Te Rere i nga Wairua,

where the freshwater spring Te Waiora o Tane cleanses the
spirits of the departed.

Te Oneroa a Tohe (the great sands of Tohe) - also known as 90 Mile Beach. Flickr / Easegill

With the arrival of Norwegian

Collectively - from the northernmost tip Te Rere i nga Wairua

to Tokerau Bay in the south - this region is called Te Hiku o
Te Ika a Maui, or the Tail of the Great Fish of Maui.

drillships to our shores, your country

now poses a threat to everything we
value and treasure.

Te Hiku o Te Ika a Maui is an integral cultural and spiritual

part of our way of life in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and we
work hard to keep it that way.

Directly southwest lies Te Oneroa a Tohe, the great sands of

Tohe - also known as 90 Mile Beach - where for generations
the local tribes have gathered the bountiful food resources of
the ocean. This amazing source of nourishment runs south to
Te Koanga Bay.

With the arrival of Norwegian drillships to our shores,

your country now poses a threat to everything we value
and treasure.
This hurts us deeply, but like our forefathers, we will
strive to protect the integrity of our lands and continue
to fight for its rights.

At Te Koanga, you will find Sonny Otene and his tribe Te

Parewhero. They are the kaitiaki (guardians) of this part
of the land and ocean through their tribal organisation - Te
Ahipara Komiti Takutaimoana.
Directly southeast of Te Rerenga Wairua are the pristine
waters of Parengarenga, which are cleansed by the brilliant
white dunes made of the purest silica sands in the world.
Further south, and youll find the majestic Tokerau Bay and
the traditional fishing grounds and lands of the Ngti Kahu
people. These are the tribal homelands of Taketake Toe Toe.

The Treaty of Waitangi and oil exploration

THE TREATY OF WAITANGI

In the report by the Waitangi Tribunal, Chief Judge Joe

Williams (presiding) found, the Tribunal considered
that the claimants in these claims had a subsisting
Treaty interest in the petroleum resource and that
they were accordingly entitled to redress beyond that
to which their historical land loss grievances entitled
them.

In 1840 the Maori chiefs of Aotearoa signed Te Tiriti

o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi), which was the
constitutional foundation document of the modern New
Zealand state.
Since then, we have held fast to this Treaty, even
historically, when the settler government chose to ignore
its provisions.

And more recently, the February 2015 report of The

Waitangi Tribunal's inquiry into Te Paparahi o Te Raki
(the Great Land of the North) Treaty claims found that:
"they did not cede authority to make and enforce law
over their people or their territories.

Article 2 of Te Tiriti guaranteed that Maori would

retain, full undisturbed possession over their lands,
fisheries and sovereignty. It also granted rights to
the new British incomers, allowing them to establish
governance structures for their people, who were
beginning to settle amongst Maori.

THE STATOIL PERMIT

Over the last 150 years, a substantial amount of legal

jurisprudence has evolved, including the incorporation of
Te Tiriti o Waitangi into domestic law.

On 5 December 2013, the government announced that

it had issued an exploration permit to Statoil in the
Te Reinga basin off the northern coast of Northland,
encompassing 54,000 square kilometres of sea.

And then in 1975, the New Zealand Government

established the Waitangi Tribunal to investigate the
nature of any breaches of the Treaty.

This is considered an ultra-deep prospect and includes

depths exceeding 2,500 metres.
In addition, Statoil has now entered into a joint venture
agreement with Chevron to explore a further region off
the East Coast of the North Island

Consequently, in recent times the government

has been found guilty of both historical and
contemporary breaches.

The area they will explore in the Pegasus and East Coast
Basins covers more than 6.26 million acres or 25,300
square kilometres. Chevron will be the operator of the
permits, and will share interest 50/50 with Statoil.

THE PETROLEUM REPORT

The Petroleum Report is the outcome of a hearing held
in Wellington about legal issues surrounding petroleum
resource ownership in October, 2000.

Chevron calls the area "frontier" basins, with water

depths ranging from 800 metres to 3,000 metres.
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Iwi response

"Fly a Flag III" by Andrea Hopkins - AEH'10 Parehauraki / Marutuahu / Maniapoto. Collection of Arana Horncy & Mandy Sunlight"

Ngti Kuri does not support the

TE RARAWA

Governments current position on

Deep Sea Oil Drilling.

Immediately after the announcement of the Northland

permit to Statoil, local Maori leaders began to express
their opposition.

. Drilling at depths of 2,000 meters or more is at the

limits of safe practice for current technology

Tribal governance organisation Te Runanga o Te Rarawa

immediately resolved to oppose deep sea oil drilling within its
iwi area of interest in the Far North.

. Benefits to New Zealand and local communities

will be marginal when foreign companies such as
Statoil have been provided permits to drill

According to chairman Haami Piripi, "this decision

reaffirmed the runanga's policy of supporting the views of its
hapu (constituent sub tribes) on deep sea mining.

. New Zealand carries 100% of the risk in the event

of a major oil spill. New Zealand is currently
underprepared to deal with any oil spill. The
ecological and economic damage to our coastline
in such an event will be catastrophic. As kaitiaki
(guardians), Ngti Kuri has a responsibility to
protect this taonga (treasure).

Despite attempts by Statoil to engage with tribal authorities

in the region, many surrounding governance groups have also
added their opposition to Statoils exploration.

NGTI KURI

NGTI KAHU

Ngti Kuri is another tribe whose lands and waters are

immediately adjacent to the Statoil prospect. In his
letter to the New Zealand Prime Minister on 30 June
2014, Ngti Kuri tribal governance chairperson Harry
Burkhardt stated that:

Through its chairperson, Professor Dr Makere Mutu, the

Ngti Kahu tribal governance organisation Te Runanga o
Ngti Kahu sent a letter to the President of the Sami Parliament
of Norway in April 2015, making their position clear:
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Letter to Sami Parliament of Norway

mandated and
Te Rnanga--Iwi o Ngti Kahu is the body
of the Far North
authorised to represent the Ngti Kahu nation
Kahus parliament.
region of Aotearoa / New Zealand. It is Ngti
e power and
Ngti Kahu are mana whenua, that is, the ultimat
urces within our
authority for all lands, seas and other natural reso
ains with us and
territories. Sovereignty over our territories rem
itories include Te
not with the New Zealand government. Our terr
Statoil has been issued
Reinga basin, the area off our coast for which
land government.
petroleum exploration licenses by the New Zea
government does not
We need to be very clear that the New Zealand
nses within Ngti
have the constitutional authority to issue any lice
t. The British Crown,
Kahus territories without Ngti Kahus consen
entered into a treaty
whom the New Zealand government represents,
in our territories
in 1840 which confirmed that sovereignty with
is to control British
remains with us and that the Crowns only role
Zealand government
immigrants entering our territories. The New
to issue licenses to
has misrepresented itself as holding authority
hold that authority.
conduct petroleum exploration when it does not
uring nations of
Furthermore Ngti Kahu, along with our neighbo
Te Reinga basin and
Ngti Kur and Te Rarawa, own the seabed in
exploration there.
are the only ones who can authorise petroleum
conducting petroleum
Ngti Kahu are vehemently opposed to anyone
icularly in our seas.
exploration anywhere in our territories and part
of Papatnuku, our
We are ultimately responsible for the well-being
unt of damage that
mother earth, throughout our territories. The amo
ng resources from
has been done to her by people forcibly extracti
ironmentally, it has
her for capital gain is not only unsustainable env
severely threatening
resulted in permanent damage in many places,
seen the evidence
Papatnukus ability to sustain life. We have
people extracting
both here and overseas of the damage done by
that damage occurring
petroleum. We have begun to see the signs of
increasingly coming
in our own territories as dead sea mammals are
up on our beaches.

The legal claim and a murky oil history

Stop Statoil hikoi, Cape Reinga, September 2014. Dan McGrath

THE LEGAL CLAIM

OILS MURKY HISTORY IN NEW ZEALAND

As a result of this opposition and ongoing discussions

amongst northern tribal groups, it has been agreed that an
immediate legal claim will be made to the Waitangi Tribunal
about the issue of deep sea oil drilling. The legal action is
being taken by the Ahipara Komiti Takutaimoana, which
is the tribal organisation mandated to manage all issue
concerning the marine environment.

Our people do not get employed, we cannot

train in the technical areas required.

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, member at the

Maori Economic Development Panel
New Zealands first onshore oil well was drilled in 1865 in
the Taranaki region, on land recently confiscated from local
Maori. Offshore drilling began in the same region 100 years
later in 1969.

Broadly, the claim alleges breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in

respect of the governments failure to actively seek prior and
informed consent of Maori tribes in relation to the issuing of
deep sea oil drilling permits, as well as failing in the duty of
the correct consultation process with Maori rights holders.

Until now, the oil industry has had little activity beyond this
region, a region of almost entirely stolen Maori lands. These
are the tribal homelands of Hinekaa Mako.

REMEDIES

Thus, the oil industry has grown in a context that began

during the early days of Maori land theft, and has failed to
demonstrate many benefits to iwi.

That we the aforementioned tribal authorities of the far

north of Aotearoa New Zealand are therefore requiring that
Statoil surrender their permits at the earliest exit point in
their contracts.

Alongside massive historic land confiscations, the new offshore

drilling activity was also facilitated by controversial but
unbridled government theft of customary waters from Maori.
The Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 served to extinguish
indigenous customary title to the seabed.

Stop Deep Sea Oil march, Auckland, 30 September 2014. Jos Wheeler

In 2010, the John Key led government enthusiastically

embarked on a mining and drilling programme, starting
with a proposal to offer our conservation estate to
mining companies.

This Act is a vital tool used by the Government to issue

permits of vast tracts of New Zealand's territorial waters to
foreign oil companies for exploration and drilling.
It legally cuts Maori out of the permitting process by
minimising our involvement in seabed issues, leaving us only
one option to partake in a toothless consultation process.

In response, 40,000-people protested in Auckland, forcing

the government to reconsider the plan. Then, later that same
year, the government issued deep sea drilling permits to
Brazilian oil giant Petrobras.

[The Foreshore and Seabed Act was] the

largest confiscation of land since the early

colonial period.

But the Petrobras exploration program was also

met with staunch opposition - led by the local iwi, Te
Whanau a Apanui. The oil giant eventually chose to
abandon their permits.

Annette Sykes, Maori activist and lawyer

The Foreshore and Seabed Act sparked the largest uprising
of Maori across the nation, as well as a transformative rift
within the governments then-ruling Labour Party, which split
the Maori caucus, and led to formation of the Maori Party.

This is the climate which Statoil has entered New Zealand.

It is coming to a country with strong antipathy, both
historical and recent, to activities that jeopardise our
natural environment. The connections to land and sea
that Maori people and many non-Maori New Zealanders
have, is part of the collective national identity.

A large number of non-Maori New Zealanders also supported

the protest movement against this Act, which has been
described by lawyer and activist Annette Sykes as, the
largest confiscation of land since the early colonial period.

Many times the force of that public sentiment has successfully

overthrown threats to New Zealands unspoiled shores.

Offshore drilling now involves huge areas of New Zealands

territorial waters being offered for foreign exploration
its also the centrepiece of the incumbent National Party
governments economic strategy.
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Climate change - the real catastrophe

Boy on horse, Matai Bay. Hinekaa Mako

Believing that, given expert climate

It must be difficult for oil companies to accept the

unequivocal scientific data, which tells us that the
world cannot afford to burn existing fossil fuel reserves
let alone search for more. But this is the reality that
informs our belief that clean renewable energy should
be vigorously pursued.

change predictions and advice, any further

unnecessary release of carbon into our
atmosphere is not only irresponsible, but
will directly lead to unprecedented human
suffering exploration makes no sense.

Stopping exploration for oil is imperative if we are to

provide a better, more secure and fairer future for ours
and future generations.

Patau Tepania, Chairperson,

Ahipara Komiti Takutaimoana
Statoils arguments for drilling are based primarily on a
belief that we need to feed the worlds dependence on oil, as
well as a desire to maintain Norways oil revenues.

Statoil may be a unique operator at home - some may call it

a national hero because of the large percentage of royalty
it pays to the Norwegian Sovereign Fund.

Many iwi are unimpressed by these motives.

But in Aotearoa, New Zealand, no such sovereign fund exists.

Statoil is here to take any oil they find, and take the lionshare
of any income back to Norway.

In a meeting with iwi Statoils vice-president of

exploration Pal Haremo stated that, If our company is to
grow, then we must expand. He further said that, If we
stopped oil production thered be unemployment, economic
shut down, catastrophe. Producing oil is the only way we
can get through this.

On the other side of the world, its just another oil company
intent on exploiting our pristine sea areas to maximise their
returns and minimise their expenses.
We see them in a different light.

Iwi feel these statements amount to a fear tactic which

overstates the risks of not drilling for new oil, while
minimising the real catastrophe that we face if climate
change is not dealt with.

For us, the people of Aotearoa New Zealand,

Statoil is no hero.
We want Statoil to go home.

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Ko Aperahama Taonui he poropiti no Ngapuhi

I whakaohorere ai te iwi i ana matakite
Ka haere mai he taniwha!
Ka mohio te iwi i tenei morikarika
Na te ahua o ana niho
He koura! He hiriwa!
Na reira, kua tae te wa, kua tae tera taniwha.
Kia oho! Kia mataara!
Kia tu tahi tatou!

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