Official Information Act request to Police sparks complaint to Ombudsmen:
NZ Police have responded to the Official Information Act request for all information regarding this incident.
Sgt Ruth is deliberately lying in claiming that he allowed the writer to photograph the letter to trustees, he did not allow it at all and he knows perfectly well he didn't, hence this request. Sgt Ruth knows perfectly well that a letter dated 31 January regarding an occupation license from 1 February is not allowing any time for dialogue or dissent, and makes a mockery of the idea of proper consultation.
One of the administrators of the FYI site has annotated the request pointing out that Sgt Ruth's response is unacceptable, and why, and a formal complaint has been filed with the Office of the Ombudsmen.
Sgt Ruth claims in the third paragraph of his response do not stand up to scrutiny.
Police have provided no information whatsoever regarding any of this claimed consultation and it is extremely unlikely they would have been advised that there is no interest or cultural relevance to the land because it is well known that the land is wahi tapu and of great spiritual and cultural relevance to Ngapuhi.
Te Karaka Tapu o Ngapuhi is listed as a wahi tapu (sacred site, holy ground, a place subject to long-term ritual restrictions on access or use, e.g. a burial ground, a battle site or a place where tapu objects were placed) and it has been registered as such since at least 2004. As a registered Historic Reserve the Far North District Council would have been well aware of the status of the land.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi binds the manuhiri to the English laws, te tikanga o a tipuna binds nga tangata whenua. We are not one people, according to Te Tiriti, and according to tikanga, and according to He Whakaputanga, we are two people, our tipuna engaged with Queen Victoria of England in good faith, asking her to protect us from her subjects who had come to Kororareka and were causing havoc, after being advised by certain key people that it was in our best interests and that it would apply to the subjects of Queen Victoria.
What really matters is He Whakaputanga, in which our tino rangatiratanga is clearly spelled out:
Declaration of Independence of New Zealand
1. We, the hereditary chiefs and heads of the tribes of the Northern parts of New Zealand, being assembled at Waitangi, in the Bay of Islands, on this 28th day of October, 1835, declare the Independence of our country, which is hereby constituted and declared to be an Independent State, under the designation of The United Tribes of New Zealand.
2. All sovereign power and authority within the territories of the United Tribes of New Zealand is hereby declared to reside entirely and exclusively in the hereditary chiefs and heads of tribes in their collective capacity, who also declare that they will not permit any legislative authority separate from themselves in their collective capacity to exist, nor any function of government to be exercised within the said territories, unless by persons appointed by them, and acting under the authority of laws regularly enacted by them in Congress assembled.
3. The hereditary chiefs and heads of tribes agree to meet in Congress at Waitangi in the autumn of each year, for the purpose of framing laws for the dispensation of justice, the preservation of peace and good order, and the regulation of trade; and they cordially invite the Southern tribes to lay aside their private animosities and to consult the safety and welfare of our common country, by joining the Confederation of the United Tribes.
4. They also agree to send a copy of this Declaration to His Majesty, the King of England, to thank him for his acknowledgement of their flag; and in return for the friendship and protection they have shown, and are prepared to show, to such of his subjects as have settled in their country, or resorted to its shores for the purposes of trade, they entreat that he will continue to be the parent of their infant State, and that he will become its Protector from all attempts upon its independence.
Agreed to unanimously on this 28 day of October, 1835, in the presence of His Britannic Majesty’s Resident.
(Here follows the signatures or marks of thirty-five Hereditary chiefs or Heads of tribes, which form a fair representation of the tribes of New Zealand from the North Cape to the latitude of the River Thames.)
English witnesses:
(Signed) Henry Williams, Missionary, C.M.S.
George Clarke, C.M.S.
James R. Clendon, Merchant.
Gilbert Mair, Merchant.
I certify that the above is a correct copy of the Declaration of the Chiefs, according to the translation of Missionaries who have resided ten years and upwards in the country; and it is transmitted to His Most Gracious Majesty the King of England, at the unanimous request of the chiefs.
(Signed) JAMES BUSBY, British Resident at New Zealand.
Sgt Ruth is deliberately lying in claiming that he allowed the writer to photograph the letter to trustees, he did not allow it at all and he knows perfectly well he didn't, hence this request. Sgt Ruth knows perfectly well that a letter dated 31 January regarding an occupation license from 1 February is not allowing any time for dialogue or dissent, and makes a mockery of the idea of proper consultation.
One of the administrators of the FYI site has annotated the request pointing out that Sgt Ruth's response is unacceptable, and why, and a formal complaint has been filed with the Office of the Ombudsmen.
Sgt Ruth claims in the third paragraph of his response do not stand up to scrutiny.
Police have provided no information whatsoever regarding any of this claimed consultation and it is extremely unlikely they would have been advised that there is no interest or cultural relevance to the land because it is well known that the land is wahi tapu and of great spiritual and cultural relevance to Ngapuhi.
Te Karaka Tapu o Ngapuhi is listed as a wahi tapu (sacred site, holy ground, a place subject to long-term ritual restrictions on access or use, e.g. a burial ground, a battle site or a place where tapu objects were placed) and it has been registered as such since at least 2004. As a registered Historic Reserve the Far North District Council would have been well aware of the status of the land.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi binds the manuhiri to the English laws, te tikanga o a tipuna binds nga tangata whenua. We are not one people, according to Te Tiriti, and according to tikanga, and according to He Whakaputanga, we are two people, our tipuna engaged with Queen Victoria of England in good faith, asking her to protect us from her subjects who had come to Kororareka and were causing havoc, after being advised by certain key people that it was in our best interests and that it would apply to the subjects of Queen Victoria.
What really matters is He Whakaputanga, in which our tino rangatiratanga is clearly spelled out:
English version written by James Busby
The English text was drafted by British Resident James Busby for the 28 October 1835 signing. It was then translated into te reo Māori by Henry Williams and written out by Eruera Pare Hongi. Busby despatched the English text to both the New South Wales government and the Colonial Office in Britain.Declaration of Independence of New Zealand
1. We, the hereditary chiefs and heads of the tribes of the Northern parts of New Zealand, being assembled at Waitangi, in the Bay of Islands, on this 28th day of October, 1835, declare the Independence of our country, which is hereby constituted and declared to be an Independent State, under the designation of The United Tribes of New Zealand.
2. All sovereign power and authority within the territories of the United Tribes of New Zealand is hereby declared to reside entirely and exclusively in the hereditary chiefs and heads of tribes in their collective capacity, who also declare that they will not permit any legislative authority separate from themselves in their collective capacity to exist, nor any function of government to be exercised within the said territories, unless by persons appointed by them, and acting under the authority of laws regularly enacted by them in Congress assembled.
3. The hereditary chiefs and heads of tribes agree to meet in Congress at Waitangi in the autumn of each year, for the purpose of framing laws for the dispensation of justice, the preservation of peace and good order, and the regulation of trade; and they cordially invite the Southern tribes to lay aside their private animosities and to consult the safety and welfare of our common country, by joining the Confederation of the United Tribes.
4. They also agree to send a copy of this Declaration to His Majesty, the King of England, to thank him for his acknowledgement of their flag; and in return for the friendship and protection they have shown, and are prepared to show, to such of his subjects as have settled in their country, or resorted to its shores for the purposes of trade, they entreat that he will continue to be the parent of their infant State, and that he will become its Protector from all attempts upon its independence.
Agreed to unanimously on this 28 day of October, 1835, in the presence of His Britannic Majesty’s Resident.
(Here follows the signatures or marks of thirty-five Hereditary chiefs or Heads of tribes, which form a fair representation of the tribes of New Zealand from the North Cape to the latitude of the River Thames.)
English witnesses:
(Signed) Henry Williams, Missionary, C.M.S.
George Clarke, C.M.S.
James R. Clendon, Merchant.
Gilbert Mair, Merchant.
I certify that the above is a correct copy of the Declaration of the Chiefs, according to the translation of Missionaries who have resided ten years and upwards in the country; and it is transmitted to His Most Gracious Majesty the King of England, at the unanimous request of the chiefs.
(Signed) JAMES BUSBY, British Resident at New Zealand.
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