26 March 2003 Media Advisory

Deed of Settlement will be signed

Court proceedings brought by the Tuhoe-Waikaremoana Trust Board have been adjourned to enable the Crown and the Bay of Plenty iwi Ngati Awa to sign a Deed of Settlement at parliament tomorrow.

The Deed of Settlement sets out the Crown’s settlement offer for the historical claims of Ngati Awa that in general terms relate to land confiscation and other dealings which left Ngati Awa virtually landless.

The offer is made up of a redress package that includes an agreed historical account and formal Crown apology, cultural redress including the transfer of seven sites of significance to Ngati Awa, and a combination of cash and Crown-owned land up to the value of $42.39 million.

A draft Deed of Settlement was initialled in July last year. It was then put to the people of Ngati Awa between November and December 2002 for ratification and 87% of those members voted to accept the settlement.

The Ngati Awa settlement is the first achieved in the Bay of Plenty.

Details of the ceremony are as follows:

Date: Thursday 27 March
Time: 10am – noon (guests to be seated by 9.45)
Location: Legislative Council Chamber, Parliament Buildings

ENDS

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