Further Maori claims

49. One submission to the Select Committee on the Radiocommunication Bill maintained that the Act should be 'consistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and with the Treaty itself'⁶¹. In particular the submission claimed that removal of the 20 year cap on management rights would prejudice Maori claims to rangatiratanga over radio frequency spectrum. Partly in response to these views the Committee amended the bill to retain the status quo, that is the retention of the 20 year cap. This was the only substantial change made to the bill by the Committee when it tabled its report to Parliament on 27 August 1998.
50. Following the announcement by Government of a further auction of frequencies in the 2GHz band, a claim in respect of Maori rights to management and development of the radio spectrum was lodged on 8 March 1999⁶² and the auction was deferred pending a substantive hearing. The Waitangi Tribunal released its final findings and recommendations on 1 July 1999⁶³ with a split decision but a majority finding that:
    • The claimants would be prejudiced if the 2 GHz auction were to proceed and should be suspended until a fair and equitable portion of spectrum rights (that is the radio to generate radio waves) are reserved for Maori.
    • The Radiocommunications Act 1989 is in breach of the Treaty in that it permits alienation of spectrum rights without consultation with Maori, or without allowing Maori a fair and equitable share of those rights.
51. The minority finding was that:
    • The right to generate radio waves was not protected by the Treaty
    • The Crown had breached its obligation to protect Maori language and culture and that the measures taken by the Crown to remedy the decline of the Maori language were insufficient.
    • It would be an improper use of the Treaty to address the problem of language decline by providing spectrum rights to Maori, however a portion of the proceeds of the 2 GHz auction should be applied to promoting Maori language and culture.
52. The Government considered the report of the Tribunal but declined to accept that the generation of radio waves for communication purposes was a taonga under Article II of the Treaty, that Treaty principles required spectrum rights to be be allocated to Maori, or that the Radiocommunications Act was in breach of the Treaty⁶⁴. The Minister of Communications, the Hon. Maurice Williamson, announced the 2GHz auction would therefore proceed. The Government did agree, however, to make an additional $15M of funding available for the promotion of Maori language and culture.

Footnotes

⁶¹ Submission 14, Whatarangi Winiata.

⁶² WAI 776.

⁶³ 'The Radio spectrum Management and Development Final Report', WAI 776, ISBN 1-86956-251-8.

⁶⁴ CAB (99) M26/14 refers.