Prime Minister John Key says the division created by the foreshore and seabed debate shows why it is necessary to get Treaty of Waitangi claims settled as soon as possible.
In a speech in Waitangi today, Mr Key said quick but just settlements of Treaty grievances were needed to ensure the country was able to move forward.
"We are impatient to stop looking in the rear-view mirror at grievances past, and to instead shift our eyes to the challenges of our shared future as New Zealanders," he said.
"I think it would be a betrayal of Kiwis' basic sense of decency to forget the past and the legitimate claims of iwi. But at the same time I am determined that New Zealand will not become stuck in that past."
Mr Key said settling all the claims by 2014 as National campaigned for in its 2008 election campaign would be challenging but was in the grasp of the Government and iwi.
He said at Te Tii Marae yesterday that he hoped the foreshore and seabed legislation could be repealed this year, but warned the solution would need to be acceptable to most New Zealanders.
The fact so many long-standing grievances had been created in the 19th century showed how important it was to settle any new ones, Mr Key said.
"I believe if we don't actually address the foreshore and seabed issue it won't go away. It will be a weeping sore that'll be there forever," he told media.
"We're currently settling Treaty claims which relate right back to 1845, so these things don't go away unless you address them.
"On the other side, if you don't address them in a way that is acceptable to the vast majority of New Zealanders it won't have the support of the country and that will be taking us in the wrong place."
Mr Key said in his speech that there were 60 claims outstanding when National took office in 2008.
"If we were content to continue at the settlement pace of the previous Labour-led government, then we would only expect to resolve those claims at a rate of 1.6 a year.
“In other words, we would still be signing settlements in 2048.
"I won't accept that. We must do better. The Government has the will and my sense is that iwi have the will as well."
Mr Key, who used most of his speech to emphasise the importance of settlement claims, explained the measures the Government was taking to speed up the process.
"Our foot is firmly on the settlement pedal," he said.
Mr Key said he had instructed Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson to "get out there" and meet iwi, and work closely with them to conclude settlements.
"He has been doing exactly that...but make no mistake, the 2014 target the Government has set for itself is ambitious," he said.
"Reaching our target will require much work and goodwill from the Government, from the New Zealanders we represent, and from the iwi with whom we are negotiating."
He said he was determined that every settlement would be full and final.
"I do not want to condemn our children and grandchildren to endlessly re-litigating these negotiations, due to sloppy work and inadequate attention to detail."
Mr Key said the debate around the Treaty of Waitangi had too often been characterised by extremism, and by people who had sought to weaken ties that united Maori and other New Zealanders.
"This Waitangi Day, as we reflect on our history as a nation, I could take the opportunity to outline the many times in New Zealand where we have strayed from the path of justice, or acted in ways which call our basic sense of fairness into question," he said.
"No one in this room would deny the existence of such dark moments in our history.
"But today is not the day to dwell on our failures. Let today be a day when we reflect on the prouder moments of our history, and on the growing unity that, for many decades, has underpinned the relationship between Maori and other New Zealanders."
Mr Key said there were cynics on both sides who damaged the goodwill needed to put an end to grievance and division, but he believed they represented a small minority of New Zealanders.
Mr Key delivered his speech after attending a dawn service attended by about 500 people at the Treaty Grounds in Waitangi.
NZPA