Vote Treaty Negotiations - Māori, Other Populations and Cultural - Estimates 2014/2015

Summary of the Vote#

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Overview#

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The Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations is responsible for appropriations in Vote Treaty Negotiations for the 2014/15 financial year including a multi-year appropriation and a range of annual appropriations.

Vote Treaty Negotiations contains a multi-year appropriation of $1,400 million for the five-year period 2014 to 2018. This appropriation is for the settlement of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims and provides for the payment of redress through the transfer of assets (cash and property) from the Crown to claimant groups, and for the payment of interest on settlement redress.

In addition, annual appropriations sought for Vote Treaty Negotiations in 2014/15 total $70.709 million. This is intended to be spent as follows:

• $31.894 million (45% of the Vote) for the purchase of negotiation and implementation of historical Treaty claims and administration and implementation of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 from the Ministry of Justice
• $11.143 million (16% of the Vote) for the purchase of property management services from the Ministry of Justice
• $8.102 million (12% of the Vote) for claimant funding to support the settlement of historical Treaty claims
• $120,000 (less than 1% of the Vote) for debt write-off of rentals owing from Landbank properties
• $2.400 million (3% of the Vote) for agreed payments for Foreshore and Seabed agreements
• $3.450 million (5% of the Vote) for contributions toward determining customary interests in the Marine and Coastal Area
• $3.600 million (5% of the Vote) for depreciation on assets held in the Landbank, and
• $10 million (14% of the Vote) for the purchase of assets for possible use in future historical Treaty of Waitangi settlements.

The Ministry of Justice expects to collect $7.340 million of revenue on behalf of the Crown from Landbank property operations and $8.496 million of interest revenue from lending to implement the Ngati Whatua Orakei Deed of Settlement.

Details of these appropriations are set out in Parts 2-4.

Estimates of Appropriations#

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Details of Appropriations and Capital Injections#

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Annual and Permanent Appropriations

Multi-Year Appropriations

Supporting Information#

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Part 1 - Vote as a Whole#

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1.1 - New Policy Initiatives

1.2 - Trends in the Vote

Summary of Financial Activity

Note - where restructuring of the vote has occurred then, to the extent practicable, prior years information has been restated as if the restructuring had occurred before the beginning of the period covered.

Adjustments to the Summary of Financial Activity Table due to Vote Restructuring

As a consequence of the 2013 Amendment to the Public Finance Act, Multi-Class Output Appropriations were converted to Multi Category Appropriations.

1.3 - Analysis of Significant Trends

Total Vote: All Appropriations

 

Source: Ministry of Justice - Vote Treaty Negotiations

Output Expenses

Departmental output expenses reduce slightly from 2014/15 onwards. This is due to the receipt of additional funding in 2013/14 to maintain Treaty settlement progress.

Other Expenses

During 2012/13 and 2013/14 a number of significant Treaty settlement milestones were reached. From 2014/15 onwards, expenditure on Treaty settlements is expected to remain relatively constant over the forecast period.

Non-Departmental Capital Expenditure

Non-departmental capital expenditure is scheduled to return to baseline levels from 2014/15 onwards.

Performance Trends

The increased settlement momentum from previous years is expected to continue, as the Ministry continues to negotiate with claimant groups who are willing and able. Over 2013/14 and 2014/15, it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of Mandates recognised and Terms of Negotiation agreed, as well as a continued high number of Agreements in Principles and Deeds of Settlement signed. It is anticipated that there will be a significant increase in legislation introduced and enacted.

1.4 - Reconciliation of Changes in Appropriation Structure

Explanations of the reasons for changing the appropriation structure are noted in the details of each appropriation in Parts 2-4.

Part 2 - Details of Departmental Appropriations#

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2.1 - Departmental Output Expenses

Property Portfolio Management (M74)

Scope of Appropriation

Expenses and Revenue

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation provides funding for the management, acquisition and disposal costs of Crown-owned property held in the Office of Treaty Settlements Landbank for historical Treaty of Waitangi settlements.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

End of Year Performance Reporting

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry of Justice in its Annual Report.

Current and Past Policy Initiatives

Reasons for Change in Appropriation

The increase in this appropriation of $742,000 for 2014/15 is mainly due to an expense transfer from 2013/14 to 2014/15. The expense transfer will fund the delayed felling of the Pukeora forest.

Part 3 - Details of Non-Departmental Appropriations#

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3.4 - Non-Departmental Other Expenses

Agreed Payments for Foreshore and Seabed Deeds of Agreement (M74)

Scope of Appropriation

Expenses

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation provides funding to settle Deeds of Agreement signed under the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, before it was repealed.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

An exemption was granted under s15D(2)(b)(ii) of the PFA, as additional performance information is unlikely to be informative because this appropriation is solely for Deeds of Agreement payments. Performance information relating to what is intended to be achieved with this expenditure is provided under the Treaty Negotiations and Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act multi-category appropriation, specifically the Treaty Negotiations and Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act category.

Reasons for Change in Appropriation

The increase in this appropriation of $2.400 million for 2014/15 is due to expected payments as per the signed Deed of Agreement.

Claimant Funding (M74)

Scope of Appropriation

Expenses

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation is intended to achieve an effective process for providing financial assistance for claimant groups, to durably settle historical Treaty of Waitangi claims.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

Note 1 - Claimant groups can lodge an application for funding at any stage of the negotiation and settlement process. The amount of funding they may receive depends on the size of the claimant group and the complexity of the claim.

End of Year Performance Reporting

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry of Justice in its Annual Report.

Current and Past Policy Initiatives

Reasons for Change in Appropriation

The decrease in this appropriation of $4.921 million for 2014/15 is mainly due to an expense transfer from 2012/13 to 2013/14, which increased the appropriation in 2013/14. In 2014/15 the appropriation returns to baseline.

Contribution Toward Determining Customary Interests in the Marine and Coastal Area (M74)

Scope of Appropriation

Expenses

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation is intended to achieve an effective process for providing financial assistance for the investigation of applicant groups' customary rights under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

End of Year Performance Reporting

Performance information for this appropriation will be reported by the Ministry of Justice in its Annual Report.

Reasons for Change in Appropriation

The increase in this appropriation of $2.707 million for 2014/15 is due to an expense transfer from 2013/14 to 2015/16, which decreased the appropriation in 2013/14. The transfer will align contributions with estimates of when funding will be needed.

Debt Write-offs (M74)

Scope of Appropriation

Expenses

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation provides for incurring the expense involved in the write-off of debt from rental properties held in the Office of Treaty Settlements Landbank.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

An exemption was granted under s15D(2)(b)(ii) of the PFA, as additional performance information is unlikely to be informative because this appropriation is solely for the write-off of bad debts. Performance information relating to what is intended to be achieved with this expenditure is provided under the Property Portfolio Management appropriation.

Depreciation (M74)

Scope of Appropriation

Expenses

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation provides funding for incurring the expense involved in the depreciation of property held in the Office of Treaty Settlements Landbank.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

An exemption was granted under s15D(2)(b)(ii) of the PFA, as additional performance information is unlikely to be informative because this appropriation is solely for depreciation on assets. Performance information relating to what is intended to be achieved with this expenditure is provided under the Property Portfolio Management appropriation.

Historical Treaty of Waitangi Settlements 2013 - 2017 (M74)

Scope of Appropriation and Expenses

Note that the Estimated Actual for 2013/14 includes actual and projected settlements from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014, based on the Office of Treaty Settlements work programme.

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation provides payments to claimant groups for redress associated with the settlement of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

An exemption was granted under s15D(2)(b)(ii) of the PFA, as additional performance information is unlikely to be informative because this appropriation is solely for the settlement of claims, including redress. Performance information relating to what is intended to be achieved with this expenditure is provided under the Treaty Negotiations and Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act multi-category appropriation, specifically the Representation - Waitangi Tribunal and Courts, and Treaty Negotiations and Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act categories.

Historical Treaty of Waitangi Settlements 2014 - 2018 (M74)

Scope of Appropriation and Expenses

A multi-year appropriation for historical Treaty of Waitangi settlements is established each year in the Appropriation (Supplementary Estimates) Act, and the previous multi-year appropriation is revoked. The reason for this change is to ensure there is sufficient legal authority to finalise agreements in principle negotiated in earlier years and to continue the momentum of settling Treaty of Waitangi claims.

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation provides payments to claimant groups for redress associated with the settlement of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

An exemption was granted under s15D(2)(b)(ii) of the PFA, as additional performance information is unlikely to be informative because this appropriation is solely for the settlement of claims, including redress. Performance information relating to what is intended to be achieved with this expenditure is provided under the Treaty Negotiations and Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act multi-category appropriation, specifically the Representation - Waitangi Tribunal and Courts, and Treaty Negotiations and Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act categories.

3.5 - Non-Departmental Capital Expenditure

Land, Stock, Plant Purchases (M74)

Scope of Appropriation

Capital Expenditure

Reasons for Change in Appropriation

This appropriation has been replaced by a new non-departmental capital expenditure appropriation Purchase of Assets for Possible Use in Future Treaty of Waitangi Settlements.

Purchase of Assets for Possible Use in Future Treaty of Waitangi Settlements (M74)

Scope of Appropriation

Capital Expenditure

What is Intended to be Achieved with this Appropriation

This appropriation is intended to achieve the purchase of assets for possible use in future Treaty of Waitangi settlements.

How Performance will be Assessed and End of Year Reporting Requirements

An exemption was granted under s15D(2)(b)(ii) of the PFA, as additional performance information is unlikely to be informative because this appropriation is solely for the purchase of assets. Performance information relating to the purchase and disposal of assets is provided under the Property Portfolio Management appropriation.

Reasons for Change in Appropriation

This is a new appropriation in 2013/14 which replaced the previous non-departmental capital expenditure appropriation Land, Stock, Plant Purchases. The remaining funding from Land, Stock, Plant Purchases has been transferred to this appropriation in 2013/14 and outyears.

Part 4 - Details of Multi-Category Expenses and Capital Expenditure#

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Multi-Category Expenses and Capital Expenditure

Treaty Negotiations and Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act (M74)

Overarching Purpose Statement

Scope of Appropriation