Te Tiriti o Waitangi 37. There is a deep synergy between Te Ao Māori, Te Tiriti and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (‘Declaration’). Each one bears upon the right to a decent home in Aotearoa. Te Tiriti is interpreted in light of the Declaration. Both instruments are briefly outlined in these paragraphs. 38. Te Tiriti, the country’s foundational document, establishes the relationship between Māori and the Crown. It affirms the status of whānau, hapū and iwi as tangata whenua and recognises their pre-existing rangatiratanga. It envisages a sharing of power and authority and a partnership of equals. Te Tiriti requires government to work in partnership, and share decision-making, with its Tiriti partners, and to respect and support the rangatiratanga authority of tangata whenua. 39. Articles 1 and 2 of Te Tiriti provide for coexisting systems of governance: iwi and hapū rangatiratanga and Crown kāwanatanga authority. Article 3 promises Māori equal enjoyment of citizenship rights, placing obligations on the Crown to ensure equity for Māori alongside other New Zealanders. But the Crown’s commitment to Māori under Te Tiriti goes much further than a promise of equitable treatment. It requires putting right the wrongs committed and damage inflicted, honouring the pre-existing Te Tiriti and indigenous human rights of tangata whenua, and reconciliation. 40. In the context of the right to a decent home, article 2 requires closer consideration. It affirms tangata whenua rights to “te tino rangatiratanga o ratou wenua, o ratou kāinga me o ratou taonga katoa” (the absolute authority over their lands, homes/villages and all their treasures). Rangatiratanga entails the authority to manage traditional territories, manaaki (care for) and tiaki (protect) the people, lands and resources within them. In the English version of article 2, this is referred to as the “full, exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess”. 41. In short, the right to a secure, peaceful, decent home – both for tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti – is at the core of the Tiriti agreement.16 Claims of breaches of these rights are currently being examined by the Waitangi Tribunal in its Housing Policy and Services Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 2750). Section 2: Colonisation and Te Tiriti o Waitangi 21