The Mission Cemetery in Tauranga will be handed back into Maori ownership after the New Zealand Mission Trust Board Empowering Bill was passed overnight.

Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell says the bill puts right a century old wrong that alienated Ngati Tapu and Ngai Tamarawaho from the land.

Mission Cemetery [Otamataha].

'About 150 years ago, land in central Tauranga was confiscated from tangata whenua by the Crown, as a consequence of their participation in the battles of Pukehinahina and Te Ranga.

'Once confiscated, the land was sold on by the Crown to the Church Mission Society and later transferred to the New Zealand Mission Trust Board, who in conjunction with the hapu of Ngati Tapu and Ngai Tamarawaho, have worked to transfer the land interests back.”

The bill to enable the land transfer passed its final reading last night.

Te Ururoa says it is an important milestone for the hapu and iwi of Tauranga, but also an important part of the history of NZ.

'This year we have commemorated the 150th anniversaries of battles that took place as part of the land wars. Orakau, Pukehinahina, and soon we will be going to Te Ranga, to commemorate that battle in which both Maori and Pakeha lives were lost.

'The consequences of the battles that took place at Pukehinahina and Te Ranga, and indeed of the land wars generally, did not end when the battle ended.

'There is a wider history that needs to be remembered, and I am so pleased that I was able to sponsor this Bill as a Member of Parliament.

'I acknowledge the hapu, the whanau, and indeed the tipuna who have played a role in the story of this Bill, and I also acknowledge the members of the New Zealand Mission Trust Board and the Otamataha Trust who fought hard to do the right thing by these hapu and the people of Tauranga.”