$12m payout first step toward Bay of Plenty treaty settlements
Two iwi get $6 million each as Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson lays the groundwork for a broader settlement with Ngati Rangiwewehi and Tapuika.
The government has taken a first step towards settling historical Treaty grievances with two Bay of Plenty iwi.
Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson today inked agreements in principle with Ngati Rangiwewehi and Tapuika worth a total of $12 million.
The agreements include $6m each of financial redress as well as purchase rights for Crown-owned property.
The Crown will also hand over the Hamurana Springs reserve near Rotorua to Ngati Rangiwewehi and the Pokopoko Stream reserve near Te Puke to Tapuika.
Mr Finlayson said the agreements brought closer a final resolution of all Treaty claims in the Bay of Plenty region.
"Agreements such as those reached today give iwi and the wider community a sense of certainty of what our landscape will look like once this important task is finished," he said.
Representatives from both iwi travelled from the Bay of Plenty and Rotorua to attend the signing ceremony at Parliament today.
The next step is for the Crown to negotiate more detailed settlement deeds that will be passed into law after they are agreed to by iwi.
NZPA
Thu, 16 Jun 2011
Thu, 16 Jun 2011
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$12m payout first step toward Bay of Plenty treaty settlements
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