One simple question for those inane innocents who allege that it was 'forced and often fraudulent land seizures” that enabled the ‘wicked colonisers' to settle New Zealand.

What was the land area of New Zealand and how much of this land was seized in the 19th century?

The answer is out of a total land area of 26.8million hectares (268,000sq km), 1.2million hectares were confiscated during 1860s maori wars the bulk being returned to maori shortly after via Compensation Commissions.

In September 2009, 1.47million hectares of maori land (including customary land) existedwith much the same in 2013.

Maori chiefs voluntarily sold the remaining 25.33million hectares while not owning the land anyway because maori had no accepted concept of land ownership as we know it. They certainly did not lose the land or have it stolen, as the Maori sovereignty movement treatyists appeasers grievers apologists etc want you to believe.

Once the maori chiefs discovered the early settlers would pay good money for land, the chiefs became willing sellers of land they did not actually own, to the extent much of the country was sold by 1840, according to land sales records prepared by Reverend Henry Turton.

Part of the attractiveness of the Treaty of Waitangi was that it brought with it an investigation of pre-1840 land sales, enabling the return of much of the land already sold back into maori hands meaning the chiefs could sell the said land yet again. Yes folks that's called double dipping (the practice is still alive and continues today) particularly having regard to the fact all claims finally settled in 1947 by Fraser Labour Government.

R Paterson