Hon Christopher Finlayson
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations

22 December 2012 Media Statement

Agreements reached with Ngāruahine, Te Atiawa and Taranaki Iwi

The Crown today signed two Agreements in Principle and a Letter of Agreement with iwi groups today, taking an important step towards settling the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ngāruahine, Te Atiawa and Taranaki Iwi, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Christopher Finlayson announced.

“The Taranaki region claims relate to breaches by the Crown that are some of the largest and most severe in New Zealand history,” Mr Finlayson said. “The Crown actions include warfare, loss of life, scorched earth tactics and imprisonment, raupatu and disempowerment. These agreements are a significant milestone towards resolving the injustices of the past and will form the basis for deeds of settlement to be initialled in the near future.”

The Agreements in Principle with Ngāruahine and Te Atiawa and letter of agreement with Taranaki Iwi set out broad redress packages which include historical accounts, Crown acknowledgements and apologies, and cultural, financial and commercial redress for the groups.

This includes financial redress amounts of $67.5 million for Ngāruahine, $87 million for Te Atiawa and $70 million for Taranaki Iwi, the right to purchase Crown properties and the vesting of culturally important sites such as Sugar Loaf Islands to Taranaki Iwi and Te Atiawa and the transfer of the Waitara Endowment Lands to Te Atiawa.

The parties will now negotiate on the basis of these agreements towards fully developed and detailed deeds of settlement. When deeds of settlement are signed by negotiators

“The government is committed to resolving all historical Treaty grievances,” Mr Finlayson said. “This is an important step towards settling the complex and serious historical Treaty claims in the Taranaki region.”

Copies of the agreements will be available on the Office of Treaty Settlements website www.ots.govt.nz.

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