Hon Christopher Finlayson

PAUL QUINN (National) to the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage: What recent progress has been made in efforts to secure the repatriation of toi moko from museums around the world?

Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage) : Earlier this morning, the Upper House of the French Parliament passed legislation enabling toi moko held in French institutions to be returned to New Zealand. That opens the door for Te Papa to approach museums in France and negotiate repatriation with them, with the ultimate objective of returning the toi moko to their communities. I express the Government’s gratitude to the French Government and to Minister Frédéric Mitterand, to whom the Hon Dr Sharples and I wrote last year on this issue, and to the French Parliament for passing this legislation.

Paul Quinn: How many toi moko are estimated to be held in French museums?

Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: Estimates range from between 12 and 20. There are a number of museums, as well as the Université Montpellier, that have been identified as being likely to have toi moko in their collections.

Rahui Katene: How will iwi be actively involved in the negotiations and return of moko mōkai to their tribal rohe?

Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: Te Papa will be holding them only on an interim basis. They are not accessioned as part of Te Papa’s collections. The museum has a policy prohibiting their exhibition. The goal of repatriation is to return the kōiwi to their communities of origin. Where it is possible to establish this, they remain in Te Papa’s custody pending return to their attributed place of origin. Discussions with iwi to this effect are ongoing as the repatriation of remains occurs.