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Historically nga whanau me nga hapu of Ngati Porou exercised exclusive control over our lands and waters within the Ngati Porou rohe, including the foreshore and seabed (takutai moana).
In contemporary times, Ngati Porou retain at least 90 percent of our whenua takutai (coastal lands), and
continue to exercise mana over our takutai moana - from Potikirua in the north to Te Toka a Taiau in the south. The rights of nga hapu o Ngati Porou, however, came under threat as a result of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004. Since the introduction of that Act, Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou and hapu representatives have been working to ensure the legal recognition of the mana of nga hapu in regards to their respective takutai moana, and to secure the best legal protections for hapu to undertake a whole
spectrum of activities according to Maori custom and law (see timeline of key milestones along this journey).
A major step forward was taken with the ratification of the Nga Hapu o Ngati Porou Foreshore and Seabed Deed of Agreement, which was signed at Parliament on the 31st October 2008 by 48 hapu representatives and the Crown. Legislation (Nga Rohe Moana o Nga Hapu o Ngati Porou Bill) was introduced to give effect to the Deed but, following a change in Government, the progress of this legislation was delayed by the repeal of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 and its replacement by the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (MACA ACT).
Nga Hapu o Ngati Porou Foreshore & Seabed Deed of Agreement, 2008.
Since 2011, Ngati Porou have been in further discussions with the Crown about potential amendments to the original Deed to better reflect improvements under the MACA Act. The Deed has now been updated to reflect the change in the Crown’s position since 2011. There has been no change to the position of nga hapu o Ngati Porou.
For the proposed amendments to the Deed to be accepted and approved for each hapu cluster, a series of ratification hui will be held in January/February 2017 for whanau and hapu members to approve these amendments. The hui represent the latest stage in the long journey to affirm the mana moana o nga hapu o Ngati Porou.
(Further details, including the background to the negotiations and the process by which Te Runanganui was mandated to carry out negotiations, is set out in the Background section at the front of the amended Deed).
