Report Summary

The Haane Manahi VC claim (Wai 893) was filed with the Waitangi Tribunal in 2000 by Arapeta Tahana, the chairperson of the Te Arawa Maori Trust Board. It concerns the downgrading of a recommendation for a Victoria Cross (the highest possible Commonwealth military award for bravery) to a Distinguished Conduct Medal for an act of bravery by Lance-Sergeant Haane Manahi, in action at Takrouna (Tunisia) in 1943. Te Arawa claim that their requests to restore the original VC recommendation have not been handled adequately by the New Zealand Government and that this failure constitutes a breach of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. They seek recommendations that the Crown consult with Te Arawa and present a fully researched and agreed proposal to the Queen for her consideration.