9.       The Tribunal has also directed that the division between Stage One and Two of its inquiry is the year 1886 and that Stage One may also include an inquiry into the Sim Commission and the Tauranga Moana Maori Trust Board Act 1981 (Tribunal Direction dated 3 October 2000 Wai 215 #2.299).

10.      The matters covered in the evidence that is to be led by the Crown this week will be summarised later in these submissions.

STATEMENT OF RESPONSE

11.      In respect of Stage One (Raupatu) claims, the Crown has filed a Statement of Response as directed. The response attempts to identify the key factual and legal issues that the Crown believes the Tribunal has been called upon to determine in Stage 1, and to set out briefly its position in relation to those. As stated in the response, the Crown apologises if the general approach it has taken leads to any claimant group feeling either slighted or misrepresented. It is hoped however that the Crown’s efforts to crystallize and summarize the issues will ultimately be of assistance to the Tribunal, and to the claimants, in terms of directing the process and moving it forward.

TREATY PRINCIPLES

12.      The Tribunal is charged with determining whether the claims that the Crown breached the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are well founded. For the purposes of its Stage One inquiry the Tribunal must consider whether 19th century Crown action and omission breached what we understand today to be the Treaty principles. That is a conceptually difficult, but not impossible, task.

13.      In this respect, the Crown submits that three principal Treaty duties and one paramount Treaty principle are relevant and provide a framework for this inquiry.