Crown, Tuhoe settle Te Urewera grievance

Email
Print

Crown, Tuhoe settle Te Urewera grievance

3News NZ

The deal means no one will own Te Urewera and it will remain a national park (pic: file/Jared Mason)

The deal means no one will own Te Urewera and it will remain a national park (pic: file/Jared Mason)

Tuhoe have reached an historic Treaty agreement with the Crown, including governance - but not ownership - of Te Urewera National Park.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson announced today that Tuhoe has accepted the Crown's settlement offer for historic claims, with a deed of settlement expected to be signed by the end of the year.

It includes an apology from the Crown for serious Treaty of Waitangi breaches and $170 million in financial, commercial and cultural redress, including Tuhoe's share of a 2008 central North Island forestry settlement.

It will also see the land of Te Urewera National Park vested in a new legal body governed by Crown and Ngai Tuhoe appointees, and chaired by a Ngai Tuhoe nominee.

The board will be responsible for approving a management plan of the area, and over time Tuhoe will have an increasing role in managing the park, with the Department of Conservation also maintaining its role.

However, no one will own Te Urewera under the deal, and it will remain a national park.

The Crown will continue to fund Te Urewera's management, but Tuhoe also expect to make a contribution.

Mr Finlayson said it was clear to both sides that ownership of Te Urewera was not essential to the settlement.

"This new structure will allow the historical, cultural and spiritual connection between Te Urewera and Ngai Tuhoe to be fully recognised for the first time, while the biodiversity of the area is protected and enhanced, and public access is guaranteed for all New Zealanders,” he says.

Ngai Tuhoe chief negotiator Tamati Kruger said it was an historic day for the iwi.

"The status of Te Urewera is unique and we have together developed an innovative, New Zealand-made settlement proposal.”

The settlement also includes a social service management plan, announced in August, which will see agencies work with Tuhoe to ensure better delivery of housing, education and health services, along with enhanced future relations between Tuhoe and the Government.

PARTIES REACT

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says Tuhoe have made a total compromise from their previous ambitions but want to move forward.

“I think it’s a great compromise….It’s got nothing to do with land area, it’s got nothing to do with numbers. This is about an iwi that suffered probably the worst persecution of any iwi in this country,” she says.

She says she hopes Tuhoe eventually gets control and management of the land.

“It’s about a genuine desire to reach an agreement with an iwi over what is always a difficult issue because the rest of New Zealand becomes involved.”

Labour leader David Shearer says he is pleased with the settlement and is the fair result of “measured negotiations”.

 “I hope the Tuhoe people can put this money to good use and further develop its people,” he says.

Mr Shearer hopes the agreement maintains public access to the land.

NZ First leader Winston Peters says he hopes it is a fair deal which Tuhoe are happy with.

“Their treatment over the past few years has been pretty bad under the law,” he says.

NZN/3 News

Post a Comment

Before commenting, please take the time to read our moderation guide


(Won't be published)



Comments

14/09/2012 4:55:51 p.m.

dan wrote:

It is a well known fact that Tuhoe didn't sign the Treaty to which their people suffered serverly at the hands of the Settler Government. One question, why is it that 'control' (not ownership) of Te Urewera will be a 'shared Partnership' by both the Crown and Tuhoe representatives? and considering that in the 1800's Tuhoe had full ownership of Te Urewera, but now its 'co-management'. Shouldnt Tuhoe have 100% control? It just doesnt make any sense. It also seems that the negotiating team had to come to a compromise.

12/09/2012 9:52:28 p.m.

Luke wrote:

It is shocking to hear the racist viewpoints of people in my workplace. I don't look Maori but my father is. And I hear some shockingly racist stuff said frequently toward Maori on a regular basis. And It is largely due to lack of information, the general public have little or no understanding of the size of the Fraud undertaken by the Crown following the Treaty. And the size of these settlements pale in comparison to the loss incurred by Maori, no wonder soo many Maori are disenfranchised from their own country. There are some extremely wealthy generational landowners and business owners whos fortunes trace back to gaining from the thieft from Maori Tribes. These are the people on the gravy train, not the people receiving 150 years of poverty followed by a comparatively tiny settlement.

12/09/2012 5:20:53 p.m.

David wrote:

hello GEE. I appreciate your response, although as far as I can tell, your refutations of my points are in fact in full agreement of them. There was no breach of the treaty in regards to Tuhoi because there was no treaty between Tuhoi and the crown, of which you acknowledge. I made no denial of the land being taken by force, yet that was legal seeing as they were not bound by the treaty not to as was the case with the chiefs who did sign the treaty. An apology to those tribes and a full restitution to them I understand and also support. But Tuhoi chose not to have the crown confirm and guarantee their lands to them in the first place. Taking lands by force was not peculiar to the white man-tribes and nations throughout the world (including the maori) recognized rights of conquest.

12/09/2012 2:23:36 p.m.

walter Aranui wrote:

My heart is sad but happy as well.i am hopefull for the wellness of a race of people who had a mean as journey "still are". I give thanks to the spirit of Creation for uplifting our people and all people. We as Tuhoe share the blessing of Papatuanuku for allowing us the honour to feed the people and the children of Aotearoa with the love and respect of a race of indigenous people who were taken advatage of by the pakeha crown.

11/09/2012 10:13:23 p.m.

Gee wrote:

Hello David....Tuhoe were never signatories to the treaty, yet the land they belonged to, was taken from them anyway through force of the crown..So before you start crying wolf mate, hows about you do some research, then make constructive comment to this subject...Also, there aint no gravy train, your people have been riding it for the last 150+ years...We've finally learnt your peoples ways, its time we got that apoligy dont you think!?

11/09/2012 9:08:58 p.m.

deano wrote:

This is one of the most significant announcements of the decade and it receives such small-minded ignorant monocultural comments. I'm not with you people. I say GO TUHOE! Good on you all for you multi-generational fight to be recognised and negotiate some form of justice. I wish you well - with no strings attached.

11/09/2012 6:24:08 p.m.

David wrote:

If Tuhoi were never signatories to the treaty, then why is the crown apologizing to them for serious treaty of Waitangi breaches? Also, if they were never signatories to the treaty, then there was no agreement with them in the first place to confirm and guarantee them the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties according to the second article.

11/09/2012 6:12:42 p.m.

Pete wrote:

Unbelievable do we now stop paying all the social benefits or does the taxpayer still have support the Tohoe community?

11/09/2012 6:05:27 p.m.

P A R T Y wrote:

WooHo smokin $170 mil will last a few years..

11/09/2012 4:57:45 p.m.

Alex wrote:

Geoff, i hope your right as the other tribes seem to has missed that idea... You only have to look at some of the families in Ngaruawahia, Huntly & Hamilton for that matter and the local Iwi were paid out huge amounts of money but none of that seems to have made its way into all of the members of the tribe... seems to always be only a few at the top of the Iwi who benefit!