Outcry at prison sentences for pounamu theft is racism

Raureka lived hundreds of years ago in a small village on the West Coast. When she lost her dog she went in pursuit of it and, while in the upper reaches of the mountains, a snow storm set in, causing her to lose her way. She eventually stumbled upon a mountain pass and crossed over to the east coast. This pass became known as Noti Raureka or Browning Pass.

She descended from the alps and made her way to habitations closer to the coast, whereupon she met villagers working the cabbage tree crops with stone adzes. Raureka reached into the pouch on her belt and pulled out a piece of sharpened pounamu and handed it over, suggesting that this would be a much more efficient tool than the plain stone the villagers were using.

Since then, greenstone has been known as te kopa iti a Raureka or the small purse of Raureka.

Pounamu inhabits a unique place within the Maori world. Its origins are recounted in epic legends of romance, daring and adventure. Its precious nature is such that songs have been sung about a solitary piece of carved greenstone and during the 19th century, when Ngai Tahu and Te Rauparaha were at war, the lives of chiefs were traded for a pounamu weapon. New Zealand jade was such an important resource that the issues surrounding supply were no different than the old world supply of gold or the modern power politics surrounding fossil fuels.

In 1860, when Poutini Ngai Tahu entered into a sale agreement with the Crown for the West Coast estates, they went to great lengths to secure ongoing access to pounamu in the Arahura Valley. The Crown failed to recognise these access rights, let alone any form of general property right to the mineral resource. Instead they assumed all rights alongside other gems, precious stones and minerals. Ngai Tahu placed this appropriation of rights in front of the Waitangi Tribunal as part of its WAI 27 Ngai Tahu Claim.

The Waitangi Tribunal recommended that, due to the unique nature of pounamu and its spiritual significance in Maori life and culture, every effort should be made to secure to Ngai Tahu the ownership and control of all greenstone. During negotiations, Ngai Tahu and the Crown agreed that all pounamu occurring in its natural condition within the tribal area of Ngai Tahu, or the adjacent seabed and subsoil, that was then the property of the Crown, was to become the property of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu. This was confirmed in the Ngai Tahu (Pounamu Vesting) Act 1997.

These new arrangements continued to recognise the existing rights of current mining licence holders, ensuring that their rights were not adversely affected. Once these licence rights had expired the greatest challenge facing Ngai Tahu was always going to be effective management of this mineral resource.

So, Ngai Tahu methodically developed the Pounamu Resource Management Plan, which attempted to address everything from customary rights to commercial extraction. Ironically, Bevan Climo, one of the tribe's most rabid critics when it comes to managing pounamu, was a key leadership figure in the group that wrote the management plan.

Some people don't like the fact that Ngai Tahu now own the greenstone but that is no excuse for the dog's breakfast that was TV3's reporting of the Saxton incarcerations. Drawing on Climo as an expert and making the absurd statement that the crime was simply about "stealing stone" TV3 implied that Ngai Tahu were to blame for David and Morgan Saxton being imprisoned for stealing the pounamu. There was no background information about the current contribution of pounamu to the West Coast economy or to general tourism earnings, currently New Zealand's largest export earner. There was no balanced discussion about how much it costs to fly helicopters up to the Cascade Plateau to extract large boulders of greenstone and that there must be an economic return to make it commercially viable. There was no reference to the fact that Dave Saxton was deliberately trying to conceal the extent of his pounamu holdings by burying tonnes of it on his farm.

Over an extended period of time, many West Coast locals and Maori artisans raised, with Ngai Tahu, the fact that significant quantities of "apple green, starburst" stone were coming on to the market, that this could only be sourced from the Cascade Plateau, and that no-one held a licence for that particular mining area. As a result of these concerns Ngai Tahu approached the police and asked that they investigate the possibility that their property was being stolen. The police investigated, confirmed that thefts were occurring and proceeded to prosecute the perpetrators. The courts agreed that a crime had been committed and sentenced the offenders accordingly.

If a New Zealand citizen wishes to extract and trade coal, gold or iron ore they must apply to Crown minerals for a permit, gain access to the land from the owners and gain resource consent from the appropriate council. Failure to do so, whilst still extracting tonnes of any mineral resource, will certainly lead to prosecution. Fifteen years ago, if a New Zealand citizen had extracted and traded several tonnes of greenstone without a permit they would have been prosecuted and sentenced. The current outrage against Ngai Tahu over the Saxton sentences is nothing short of racism.

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Jules NZ   #1   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I am horrified that anyone can find this behaviour acceptable.

I have huge pride in the country my family chose to settle in, and as one of the original first settler families I have the utmost respect for the heritage of country and the people who were prepared to share their land with us.

To be so ignorant to the way of our land and our people is shameful.

These men have no regard for our country and I am ashamed of them, greed was their motivation.

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