Iwi protests treaty settlement

A Bay of Plenty iwi fears they will become 'ghosts in their own region” if the Tuhoe Treaty Settlement is passed into law.

Te Upokorehe held a rally in Ohope yesterday protesting their inclusion in the settlement.

A protest by Te Upokorehe last year. Photo: Te Upokorehe.

Kaumatua Wallace Aramoana says the iwi is separate from Tuhoe, and the settlement covers land not in Tuhoe's traditional rohe [boundary].

In 2013, the House of Representatives sat through extensive hours to pass the Te Urewera-Tuhoe Bill, Ngati Haua Claims Settlement Bill and Ngati Koroko Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill.

Following this, the bills were referred to the Maori Affairs select committee, which is due to release a report on submission on the Tuhoe Settlement Bill.

The deal is one of New Zealand's biggest in dollar value, worth $170 million.

'The Te Urewera-Tuhoe Bill, which will settle the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ngai Tuhoe and create a new legal identity for Te Urewera, addresses some of the most appalling acts by the Crown in New Zealand's history,” says Minister of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Christopher Finlayson.

According to the Office of Treaty Settlements, Tuhoe did not sign the Treaty of Waitangi, and the Crown had no official presence in Te Urewera before the 1860s.

Tuhoe remained in full control of their customary lands until 1865 when the Crown confiscated much of their most productive land, even though they were not in rebellion and the confiscation was not directed at Tuhoe.

In 2007 the Crown recognised the mandate of Te Kotahi a Tuhoe to represent Tuhoe in negotiating a comprehensive historical Treaty settlement.

The Crown signed Terms of Negotiation with Te Kotahi a Tuhoe on July 31, 2008. On July 2, 2011, the Crown and Tuhoe signed a high level relationship statement (Na Korero Ranatira a Tuhoe me Te Karauna) at Ruatahuna. On March 22, 2013, Tuhoe and the Crown initialled a Deed of Settlement.

The deed was then ratified by the people of Tuhoe and signed on June 4, 2013.

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2 comments

Never Happy

Posted on 22-04-2014 09:07 | By Taffy

Give us a break they are never happy no matter what they get still want more!!!Reckon if they were given the entire country they would want Aussi as well.Perhaps they should put a claim for sunshine as no doubt they were the first to land on the Sun.


Learn your history

Posted on 22-04-2014 16:07 | By claire

Not sure who you mean by 'they' Taffy because this article is about different iwi. I think you will find that Maori people have no interest in land settlements in Australia, other than to honour and support the struggle of the indigenous there who are also trying to seek redress for the wrongs of the past: the colonial land grab & slaughter where necessary. I am sick of reading this kind of racist rubbish... shame on fellow pakeha who don't know the history of this land.


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