Nelson Tenths: Nick Smith concerned settlement will mean loss of protection for Abel Tasman

Nick Smith is calling for changes to a bill that seeks to return sections of the Abel Tasman to Māori as part of a historic resolution agreement, over concerns it could weaken the national park's long-term protection.

Last year, the Crown reached a settlement with Māori in the top of the South Island after a long-running dispute, that would see more than 3,000 hectares returned to the descendants of the customary landowners, including coastal sections of the Abel Tasman National Park and the Totaranui campsite.

The Nelson Tenths Bill had its first reading in parliament last month and would enable the transfer of more than 250 specific titles of land from the Crown to Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust.

The trust, who represents the descendants of the customary landowners in Nelson and Tasman, said the bill struck a balance between the interests of the public and the rights of the legal landowners.

"All parties recognise and acknowledge the value of Abel Tasman National Park to the community. Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust has a role as kaitiaki of the land, with an obligation and duty to protect and steward it, now and for future generations."

Smith, Nelson's mayor and a former conservation minister, has launched a petition seeking that the Abel Tasman should remain protected under the National Parks Act.

"I have no difficulty with the new Tenths Trust owning a portion of the Abel Tasman National Park, but I wish to see those protections for nature retained in perpetuity."

He said the removal of 1,723 hectares from the Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand's smallest, would be the largest chunk of National Park ever removed from permanent protection.

The bill sets out that around seven per cent of the park would be transferred into the trust's ownership, with Tōtaranui to be reclassified as a recreation reserve.

It also requires the trust to grant the Department of Conservation (DOC) a 25-year licence to continue managing the land as part of the national park, and includes a provision that land can be removed from the licensed area with three months notice.

An alternative option, Smith said, was to vest all of the Abel Tasman National Park in a 50/50 co-governance entity between the Crown and Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust, so it could retain full protection.

Smith said strategic areas, like state highways, had been compensated for in the settlement agreement and he believed the same should apply to land designated as a national park.

He said it had been "quite frustrating" to get details of the agreement that affected over 250 titles of land in the Nelson and Tasman area.

"I've suggested the alternative models that have been used in areas like Taranaki, Te Urewera and Stewart Island be explored, but we had no knowledge of any of these details until the deed was publicly announced in December."

He said he was also concerned over the rapid timetable with which the bill was being progressed, with public submissions open until 6 July and a requirement to report back to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee by 29 July.

"I worry that rushed law will be flawed law and that there are very significant implications for both Nelson and Tasman from this legislation."

Another step in resolving one of the country's longest standing land claims

In the 1830s, the Crown promised Māori in the top of the South Island that if they sold 151,100 acres of land to the New Zealand Company - they would be able to keep one-tenth. Instead, they got less than 3000 acres, which became known as the Nelson Tenths Reserves.

Kaumātua Rore Stafford sued the Crown in 2010 on behalf of the descendants of the tūpuna named in the 1893 Native Land Court list.

A Supreme Court ruling in 2017 found the government had a duty to honour the land deal between the New Zealand Company and Māori.

The Te Here ā Nuku trustee Kerensa Johnston said for the last six months the trust had been working with the Crown on the draft legislation that was now before parliament in order to implement the resolution agreement that was signed between the parties in December.

"It's really the final step in resolving this really long running dispute that's been ongoing in the courts now for 17 years, so it feels really good actually to be almost at the end of that litigation."

She said the bill would allow for the seamless transition of land from the Crown to the trust and ensure that public access would remain to the special places that were loved by those in Te Tauihu.

"We think that the resolution and the legislation is hugely positive, not only for our immediate community but for the region as a whole."

She said the 25-year agreement with the Department of Conservation was important to the trust, with a provision it would be reviewed in 22 years' time.

It put in place a framework for an ongoing relationship with DOC to ensure that collective aspirations were recognised, well managed and protected intergenerationally, she said.

"We're not expecting for the public to see any difference but for us it was very important that we had a long-term agreement in place which would ensure our mutual protection of those places and that the level of investment that DOC have made into those areas of our land would continue."

Johnston said hoped the original landowners were proud of the work that had been done on both sides to reach a resolution.

"It's a fraction of the trust land that ought to have been preserved and protected, it's still hugely significant for us that we've managed to restore that land back into our collective care."

She said work would continue to ensure that whanau aspirations for their whenua were heard.