(1) Recitals (2) to (12) of this Preamble present, in summary form, the background to the Te Arawa lakes claims that is set out in Part 7 of the deed of settlement:

(2) In 1840, lakes Ngāhewa, Ngāpouri, Ōkareka, Ōkaro, Ōkataina, Rerewhakaaitu, Rotoehu, Rotoiti, Rotomā, Rotomahana, Rotorua, Tarawera, Tikitapu, and Tutaeinanga provided food, shelter, economic resources, and primary transport routes for Te Arawa. To Te Arawa, the lakes were taonga, and their relationship with the lakes and environs was, and continues to be, the foundation of their identity, cultural integrity, wairua, tikanga, and kawa:

(3) Between 1840 and 1880, Te Arawa played a major role in the developing tourism industry in the area, retaining a significant degree of control over access and transport to the attractions of the area. Te Arawa considered that the Crown’s initiatives such as the Fenton agreement of 1880 and the Thermal-Springs Districts Act 1881 protected and acknowledged their relationship with the lakes:

(4) Over time, however, a number of Crown actions and omissions in relation to the lakes have caused grievance to Te Arawa:

(5) Trout and other exotic fish were introduced into the lakes from the 1870s, seriously depleting the indigenous fisheries and forcing Te Arawa to rely increasingly on the introduced species. The introduction of a fishing licence regime in 1888 and the ongoing propagation of trout drew protests and petitions from Te Arawa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries:

(6) In 1908, the Government legislated to address issues Te Arawa had raised regarding the depletion of indigenous fish, the introduction of fishing licence fees, and the resulting hardship experienced by some Te Arawa. The Fisheries Amendment Act 1908 provided Te Arawa with 20 fishing licences at a nominal fee. At the second reading of that Bill, Premier Ward stated that there were Māori in the thermal-springs district whose condition required natural food to be provided to them:

(7) In 1909, following what Te Arawa regarded as a series of challenges to their customary rights to the lakes, Te Arawa decided to seek clarification from the courts as to the ownership of the lakes. The Crown disputed Te Arawa’s claim to ownership of the lakes:

(8) In 1912, the Supreme Court upheld Te Arawa’s rights to have their claims to ownership of the lakes investigated by the Native Land Court. Te Arawa filed an application for a title investigation in 1913. Delays, including those caused by the Crown’s refusal to provide the necessary survey plan to the court, meant that the Native Land Court did not begin hearing Te Arawa’s application for title until 1918. The proceeding was adjourned after several weeks of hearing. In 1920, on the eve of the hearings being resumed, the Crown approached Te Arawa to negotiate a settlement of their respective claims to ownership of the lakes:

(9) In 1922, Te Arawa and the Crown reached an out-of-court agreement on the ownership question. Under the agreement, Te Arawa admitted that the fee simple of the lakes was vested in the Crown. In return, the Crown admitted the rights of Te Arawa to the burial reserves in all the lakes and their ancient fishing rights. The agreement also included provision by the Crown to Te Arawa of 40 licences to fish for trout at a nominal fee, together with an annuity of £6,000:

(10) There was no provision in the 1922 agreement for the annuity to be reviewed. The value of the annuity paid to the Arawa Māori Trust Board diminished over time, to the point where it did not make a significant contribution to the affairs of the Board:

(11) Both before and after the 1922 agreement, the Crown and local government, acting under legislation, increasingly assumed responsibility for regulating activities, including discharges, impacting on the lakes:

(12) From the late 19th century, native timber around the edges of Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti was milled and vegetation cleared for farming. Later, septic tanks were installed. These developments resulted in an increased nutrient load flowing into the lakes. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus led to the growth of blue-green algae in the lakes. Te Arawa state that environmental degradation of the lakes has affected the mana and wairua of the lakes for Te Arawa:

(13) The Arawa Māori Trust Board, on behalf of Te Arawa, registered a claim (Wai 240) in relation to the annuity issue and other lakes-related grievances with the Waitangi Tribunal in April 1987, after the legislation was amended to allow the hearing of claims dating back to 1840:

(14) In 1989, the Arawa Māori Trust Board entered into preliminary discussions about direct negotiations with the Crown to settle Te Arawa’s claims. In September 1997 the Crown agreed to negotiate Te Arawa’s lakes claims separately from their other historical claims:

(15) In December 1998, the Crown recognised the mandate of the Arawa Māori Trust Board to represent Te Arawa in negotiations for a settlement with the Crown. Terms of negotiation specifying the scope, objectives, and general procedures for negotiations were signed by the negotiators appointed to represent the Board in March 1999:

(16) In May 2001, the Crown made an offer to the Arawa Māori Trust Board in settlement of Te Arawa’s historical Treaty grievances in relation to the Te Arawa lakes. The Crown’s offer was rejected by the Board:

(17) New terms of negotiation were signed by the Crown and the Arawa Māori Trust Board in July 2001. At that time the parties agreed that the settlement would address both Te Arawa’s historical Treaty grievances in relation to the lakes and any remaining annuity issues. In December 2003 the Crown made a second settlement offer to the Board. The Board accepted the offer in principle:

(18) The Crown and the Arawa Māori Trust Board initialled a draft deed of settlement on 15 October 2004. Te Arawa ratified the Crown’s settlement offer and entered into a deed of settlement on 18 December 2004. The deed records the matters that give effect to the final settlement of all Te Arawa’s historical lakes claims and remaining annuity issues:

(19) On 11 July 2005, Te Arawa ratified a proposal to set up a new governance arrangement to succeed to the Arawa Māori Trust Board. Te Arawa chose to establish a private trust administered by trustees as the replacement governance structure. The Te Arawa Lakes Trust was established by trust deed dated 22 August 2005 and signed by the following persons, who, as the members of the Arawa Māori Trust Board holding office at the date of the trust deed, are the initial trustees of the Te Arawa Lakes Trust: