Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson has announced the Crown has signed a deed of settlement with iwi Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.

The settlement, which addresses historical grievances, was signed during an official ceremony held at Umupuia Marae in Maraetai, Auckland, over the weekend on Saturday.

Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson. Photo: File

Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is a member of the Tāmaki Collective and one of the twelve iwi of the Hauraki Collective.

Their area of interest is centred in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland extending to Hauraki/Coromandel and the coastline, harbours and islands of the Tīkapa Moana/Hauraki Gulf and Waitematā Harbour.

'The deed settles the historical grievances of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and includes an acknowledgement and apology for the acts, omissions and historical breaches of the Treaty committed by the Crown,” explains Christopher.

The iwi suffered severe Treaty breaches that rendered them virtually landless by the late nineteenth century.

In the decades following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Crown acquired large tracts of land in the iwi's rohe and confiscated 51,000 acres of land from the East Wairoa area.

Christopher says the Crown can never fully compensate the people of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki for the wrongs they have endured.

'This settlement, however, provides a basis for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki to develop a much stronger future and an opportunity for a genuine partnership with the Crown.”

Cultural redress is focused on sites of immense cultural and historical significance to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and includes the vesting of 16 properties. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki will also receive a $50,000 cultural redress payment.

Financial redress for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki includes $12.7 million, two commercial redress properties and one joint commercial property with the Marutūāhu Collective, plus the opportunity to purchase four deferred selection properties.

'Signing this deed of settlement is an important step towards settling historical grievances in the Tāmaki Makaurau region and New Zealand as a whole,” adds Christopher.

To view the deed of settlement visit the New Zealand Government website at: www.govt.nz/treaty-settlement-documents/ngai-tai-ki-tamaki/