Media Statement 25 September 2008

CNI Iwi Investing for the Future

The passage of the Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Act marks the beginning of a new phase of economic development by Central North Island iwi; CNI Collective Spokesman Tamati Kruger said today.

“We now own a stake of almost $200 million in the forestry industry in our region and are the largest forest land owners in New Zealand and the largest land owners in our region. We will soon begin to receive the income from this land and make plans for maximising that investment in the future,’ Mr Kruger said.

“Passage of the legislation also allows us to receive the $223m in accumulated license rentals associated with the forest land. That money will be distributed to member iwi and will provide them with further investment opportunities.

“We will also be able to begin work on the two year project that will determine the mana whenua interests of each CNI iwi in the forest land through a tikanga based mana whenua process.”

Mr Kruger said since the Deed of Settlement was signed in late June we have been working hard readying the CNI Collective to receive these assets and begin making them work for us as quickly as possible.

“We have also begun working on a discovery project which is part of our economic development strategy to determine our future participation in the development of CNI iwi assets and where we will gain the highest long term returns to help deliver on our social, cultural and economic goals.”

“The experience of negotiating this settlement has brought the members of the CNI Forests Iwi Collective closer together than at any other point in our history. We are determined to build on this partnership and take advantage of the opportunities the forest land settlement provides,” Mr Kruger said.

ENDS

Summary of Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Act 2008
• 176,000 ha of Central North Island licensed Crown forest land, and the associated accumulated rentals and ongoing rentals will be vested in a Trust Holding Company, CNI Iwi Holdings Ltd. The Collective’s proportion of these assets will be 86.7 percent by value, and the Crown’s proportion will be 13.3 percent by value.

• The Crown’s proportion will be available for meeting other historical claims to the Central North Island forests land.

• The shareholders of the CNI Iwi Holdings Ltd will be the member iwi of the Collective, each with an equal vote, and the Crown.

• The Collective’s share of the Crown forests land is valued at $195 million. The Collective iwi have agreed to allocate their share of the land amongst themselves on the basis of mana whenua, and in accordance with a process governed by the principles of tikanga Maori. The allocation process will be completed by 1 July 2011.

• The Crown will have six years to settle historical claims of other Central North Island Iwi claimants, after which any residual Crown interest will transfer to the Collective at a value to be agreed.

• The Collective’s share of the accumulated rentals is currently around $223 million. These rentals have accumulated since the Crown Forest Licences were created in 1989.

• A forestry management company will be formed to manage the lands on behalf of the Trust Holding Company.

• The annual rental income from the Crown Forest Licences on the land subject to this agreement totals $15m.

• The annual and accumulated rentals will be shared among the Collective members as follows

CNI Forest Iwi Collective Members Percentage Share of Accumulated and annual rentals
Ngāi Tuhoe 27.2987%
Ngāti Tuwharetoa 26.8837%
Affiliate Te Arawa iwi and hapu 16.1976%
Raukawa 14.7452%
Ngāti Manawa 6.2378%
Ngāti Whare 4.8891%
Ngāti Whakaue 3.7479%

• The Deed of Settlement records the Crown’s willingness to enter into discussions with the Collective about the potential availability to the Collective of assets and interests of the Crown within the CNI area, and the Crown’s support of the Collective exploring joint ventures with State enterprises in the Central North Island region.

• In a separate agreement the Crown and the Collective will also agree on the provision of New Zealand units to the collective under the pending emissions trading regime.

• The participating iwi will negotiate the remainder of their historical settlements directly with the Crown. This will include a Crown Apology, Crown Acknowledgements for breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, an historical account, any further financial and commercial redress and a cultural redress package including the return of culturally significant sites in the iwi’s rohe.

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