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He Whakaputanga me te Tiriti: The Declaration and the Treaty is the Tribunal's report on stage 1 of the Wai 1040 Te Paparahi o te Raki inquiry. This inquiry encompasses all territories north of Auckland that have not been the subject of previous Waitangi Tribunal historical reports.

The report is concerned solely with addressing the meaning and effect of:

• he Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni, and the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand; and

• te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the Treaty of Waitangi, at the time of the first signings in February 1840.

The Tribunal panel for the inquiry was made up of Judge Craig Coxhead, Joanne Morris, Kihi Ngatai, Professor Ranginui Walker, Keita Walker, and Professor Richard Hill. Keita Walker attended the Tribunal's five hearings, convened between May 2010 and February 2011, but was unable to take part in deliberations for the report and so did not sign it.

This Tribunal panel was the first to have had the opportunity to hear and test the full range of evidence about the Treaty's meaning and effect in February 1840.

Based on that evidence, the Tribunal's view is that the agreement reached at Waitangi, Mangungu, and Waimate in February 1840 is to be found in what the signatory rangatira were prepared to agree to, based on the proposals that William Hobson and his agents made to them by reading Te Tiriti, and explaining the proposed agreement, and on the assurances that the rangatira sought and received.

The Tribunal's essential conclusion is that

in February 1840 the rangatira who signed te Tiriti did not cede their sovereignty. That is, they did not cede their authority to make and enforce law over their people or their territories. Rather, they agreed to share power and authority with the Governor. They agreed to a relationship: one in which they and Hobson were to be equal - equal while having different roles and different spheres of influence. In essence, rangatira retained their authority over their hapu and territories, while Hobson was given authority to control Pākehā.

In reaching this conclusion, the Tribunal does not make any findings in respect of claims or make any recommendations to the Crown. It makes no conclusions about the sovereignty that the Crown exercises today or about how the Treaty relationship should operate in a modern context. These are all matters which may be addressed in stage 2 of the Tribunal's inquiry.