NOW HERE'S CLOSE UP. Tonight on Close Up ` Treaty settlements ` where has the money gone? How well do you distribute the money? I think that we've done pretty well. Ngai Tahu open their books. And it's showdown in the Labour caucus. Has David Shearer done enough to keep his job? What I'm gonna do is to sort this out once and for all. Due to the live nature of Close Up, captions for some items may be incomplete. ONE News captions by June Yeow and Glenna Casalme. Close Up captions by Desney Shaw and Sam Bradford. Labour MPs have been called to a crisis caucus meeting tomorrow where David Shearer is expected to head off any leadership ambitions from David Cunliffe. It's no secret Cunliffe wants the job and David Shearer hasn't helped himself with a sometimes middling performance since he took the job less than a year ago. We'll look at where this is leading shortly. First, Jehan Casinader looks back on the two Davids' year of living dangerously. David Shearer ` Shearer. Get it? He's sharing the... Oh, never mind. Hey, what about this for a photo op? Now he's the one getting shorn. No? OK, whatever. This man was meant to be the new face of the Labour Party. But in NZ politics, you've got to be a man of the people. We wanted to put together a compilation of the Labour leader's greatest hits. But... well, we couldn't really find any. The closest he's come to creating fireworks is this. What's going on there? David Shearer likes to speak his mind. Sadly, many of the things he says could also be said for his leadership. It's been a disappointment to all of NZers. People are seeing that this is not a good idea. The handling of it has been a debacle. The new Labour leader was destined to be a David. This one, this one or this one. This David took himself out of the race days before the big vote. And David Cunliffe, well, it's no secret his Labour Party colleagues don't like him. They didn't vote him in,... A media report last week also claimed to expose the dislike some Labour MPs hold for former labour leadership contender David Cunliffe. What about Shearer's reputation? My last job was heading up a United Nations aid programme in Iraq, building schools and hospitals. Given top honours by the Queen, he's known by some as Shearer the Carer. I've battled poverty all over the world. But even surviving a few civil wars couldn't prepare him for the Labour caucus. What would you describe as your weakness? I probably spend a little too much time with things that I enjoy, perhaps. I-I-I don't want to go through weaknesses. I don't think in particular I have a` particular weakness. Do you think you've got a weakness? Not one that comes ap` To mind. So what's happened in the past 12 months? That's the question. That's the big question here. We've seen David Shearer on the move, but has he moved the people? I don't believe I am not` not connecting. This is about getting the main messages` about` to NZers... Recently Shearer's started to make traction on his policies. A hungry kid is a distracted kid. And on Sunday, despite being blindsided by the rules at Labour's conference, he gave a speech many say is the best he's made as leader. We have to show NZers we're focused more on their ambitions than on our own. # I'm too sexy for my shirt # Too sexy for my shirt... # In terms of my leadership, I'm there til 2014. But he can't ignore this guy. But is this leadership battle really about substance? Or style? Do you know what he wants? Bear says he wants a cuddle. In the battle for the top job, there's no such thing as a consolation prize. Give us a big round of applause for the leader of the Labour Party... We'll see who's clapping after tomorrow's vote. We asked both the Davids on tonight. David Shearer declined. I suspect he feels he has this one secured. David Cunliffe didn't even respond. Joining me now are two political watchers ` David Slack, who was with Labour during the divisive '80s when the Lange and Douglas factions engaged in open warfare; and in Wellington is Dr Ryan Malone. a lot of people do not remember this. It just about killed that party that infighting. it did. And they are very sensibly scorching their bleeding. CORRECTION: staunching because there was no end in sight and because there was blood in the water, you guys like that. The conference report last night led with your report of how there was a leadership contest going on when what had happened in that conference was effectively the whole Labour Party had been pumping the air because they saw what they were hoping for. parties sometimes need to go through these infightings sometimes you need a bit of blood on the floor for a party to figure out its message. When you look at the 80s, out of the ashes came the Helen Clark government sometimes ugly. Sometimes it can be a good thing in the long-term. tomorrow morning, is this a slamdunk? They seem confident they have the numbers. they do. But let's look at the bigger picture. David Shearer's preferred prime minister ratings are around 11% on your latest poll. Until they can get them up, David Cunliffe will still be a threat. there is an even bigger picture to this. The left block is already polling equal or ahead of national. But what you will get is the next evolution of MMP. You will have two dogs of fairly similar size and maybe Winston Peters there. You need to be up to find common cause amongst these people. What was apparent from the conference was that the Labour Party is saying they are going to be hands-on rather than hands-off. That is the kind of thing Russel Norman has been advocating. You need someone to hold a coalition together. And who better than someone who is able to keep truce between Somalian warlords? Good business guy. Very good policy brain on him. but his caucus colleagues don't like David Cunliffe. What does he have to do to turnaround? Change the perception that he has this arrogance about them, that he is God's gift to NZ politics. is just a perception? I think if you get him at an honest moment, he'll tell you that he thinks of him reasonably highly. he looks up to the press gallery when he makes a good point. People have warmed to him as the years have slipped by. he needs to deal a killer blow to David Cunliffe. What is to stop them in three months and having another crack? how does the party feel about Shearer? They answered him very emphatically yesterday afternoon. But are you guys going to keep saying there is blood in the water? They had to do this in order to stop that from happening. And to get you guys to start looking at some of these other questions. In february, yes you will have another contest, but I suspect there will be no abandonment of the man who can be the effective leader. thank you both. So, are you confident David Shearer will lead Labour into the 2014 election? Go to our website or email us at closeup@tvnz.co.nz And we're on Facebook too. Just ahead ` one in the spotlight. What happens to the millions of dollars in Treaty settlements once the tribe gets it? Someone under 16, you put $50 into the account, then Ngai Tahu matches that four to one. Helping us build our little nest egg. More than $1.3b has been handed out in Treaty settlements over the years. That's a lot of money. But how has it been spent? South Island Ngai Tahu was given $170m over a decade ago ` one of the biggest settlements ` and their management of it has been hailed a success. How so? Abby Scott asked Ngai Tahu. The Government and Ngai Tahu have reached a settlement. It's taken nearly 150 years for the Crown and Ngai Tahu to come to terms. We are here simply to look after it, and to leave it in a better position for the next generation. From a tribe who suddenly had money,... It gives Ngai Tahu $170m. ...Ngai Tahu has grown into a tribe who are incredibly good with money. Investing in companies, property, tourism ventures and more, they've turned their $170m nest egg into $660m. We look at priorities, and where are the areas that we can get the best for our investment, for the betterment of our people. Mark Solomon is the man at the top; the man who has to balance those priorities. It's not just about earning the dollar, it's not just about getting a financial return. We have a duty of quadruple bottom-line reporting; so we've got to have an economic return, we've got to have a social return, a cultural return and an environmental return. One of the major challenges is how to make sure everyone shares in the rewards. How well do you distribute the money? I think we've done pretty well, but I don't think it'll ever be enough. With just under 50,000 members` that's a large grouping of people, and to be expected to deliver and to cater for all of the social ills or whatever, all the social needs of our people, instantly overnight is just not logical. What we try and distribute on a yearly basis is around 4% of the net asset worth of Te Runanga Ngai Tahu's enterprises. Last year that amounted to $25m that the tribe put back into its community. But Mark Solomon's adamant it's not a hand-out. The top priorities given were the revitalisation of our reo, our language, the revitalisation of our culture, and education and all of its aspects. Part of that education is financial. Ngai Tahu has an 'saver' scheme, which a third of the tribe is signed up to. All of the Pritchard family are members. What do you think when you look at how much money you've got? It's a lot of money. Money that grows as the kids do. I'll have to get a step-ladder for this one. It can be used for university, a house, or retirement down the track. This will be a big contribution to it. If you've got someone under 16 and you put $50 into their account, then Ngai Tahu matches that four to one, so a maximum of $200, and then there's some distributions paid to members on top of that, depending on how much money Ngai Tahu's made in the year. They're giving us the money and helping us build our little nest egg. Look, you've shrunk! It's to get our kids into a psyche that banking is a normal part of life. Again, not a hand-out, but a hand up. Ngai Tahu has contributed $13.5m over the years, members $11m. Keeping culture and language alive is a top priority. Ngai Tahu has injected $17m into projects that enhance and preserve Te Reo and the tribe's culture, (CHEERS IN MAORI) from funding a softball team who only use Maori on the diamond,... Ka pai, ka pai. ...to cultural scholarships, and 1500 whanau committed to raising kids in bilingual homes. Ngai Tahu has also spent nearly $1m in the past year on doing up marae throughout the region. Larena Iti is one of those benefiting from the $14m Ngai Tahu has invested in education since settlement, and she isn't even of Ngai Tahu descent. I'm actually born in the South Island, Nelson-Motueka, but my is Tainui. Larena is a He Toki Ki Te Rika graduate ` a programme training young Maori for the Christchurch rebuild. It gave me support with learning my trade and knowledge and basic skills, and also connecting with my culture. I'm proud of most of what we've done. In some ways, I'm also proud of the mistakes ` because we have made mistakes. One of those mistakes was in the seafood industry. Ngai Tahu bought out another fishing company, overcommitted, and lost millions of dollars. It was also during that time that political infighting at the tribe reached a head. But with a net profit of nearly $100m last year, Ngai Tahu is seen by some as the shining light for business, succeeding where others have failed. Am I saying that we are the business experts and the perfect model? No. But we've taken a path that's worked for us. A path that many other are now seeking advice on. I've always been a staunch advocate that the way for Maori katoa, katoa to grow is that we have to learn to work togther, we have to share our experiences. If you go back to the late 1800s, we were known as the dying people, the remnants of a race that were going to disappear. We're not, we're here for good. Law professor David Williams specialises in Treaty matters. He joins me now. why have they done so well? first cab off the rank is always a good situation to be in. The red dress that have been achieved by Ngai Tahu are very small what can you do with what redress you get? they have done very well with their use of the original sum that they received and has done very well with economic returns from right of first refusal on property goes on the block, they have done a little bit less well in terms of relationship between local hapu in the area, but overall they have done and provided some benefits. At least they have arguments at something, rather than nothing. is it about good business management? Because some have got settlements and have gone spectacularly bad. Is it something to do with the broader approach the philosophical approach? I think all that receive settlement redress have to make some decisions. They have to think about future generations rather than dividends to a shareholder who is trading on the stock market. But they all work within the corporate paradigms. Ngai Tahu have done a better than most. But they have made mistakes. They have also recovered from the mistakes. you hear people talking about problems with Maori "why aren't they using that money to sort out their own backyard?" it relates to things having not been sorted out up North. the 25 years or more, Ngai Tahu have had a resource which was quite small initially that they've been able to use. In the North they have not got to that stage yet. They have had 25 years arguing about poverty and with the resources to deal with it. On the corporate model there is only a small amount begins handed out or reinvested into future generations in education so that always looks a small sum but keeps adding up over the years. they are washing their hands with anything to do with the state assets for grabs. each large entity tends to look after their own interests and make their own decisions. On this debates a very large number of leaders who have received treaty settlements take a different line and most have supported the claims to the Waitangi Tribunal Ngai Tahu have their own particular way of relating to the government and the government has to work out how it relates to all the settlements that have been established it is interesting future discussion model that will have to save. We appreciate your time tonight. Just ahead ` an awesome commitment from our Olympic rowers for kids in need. For us, coming over here is something totally different. It's like turning the tables. And we've got your feedback. Email us at closeup@tvnz.co.nz. Feedback now, and it's on the Labour leadership showdown. Alec emails with a damning indictment of the two Davids: David writes: Tony says: Now two of our Olympians are doing their bit in one of the most poorest places on earth. EMOTIVE MUSIC It is quite shocking to see first-hand. You walk through. There's a lot of stagnant water around, kids playing in it. Fresh from a nail-biting Olympic finish, Rebecca Scown and Juliette Haigh couldn't be further from the banks of Eton Dorney, volunteering at a preschool and feeding programme founded by fellow K Marcus Gregar-Rive three years ago. In my heart of hearts I knew this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to take kids from not having school to having school. That's tomorrow night, and that's NZ Close Up. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012