Further progress in Far North Treaty settlement negotiations

Today's signing of an Agreement in Principle to settle the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ngatikahu ki Whangaroa and the Crown is welcomed as an important step forward, says Minister of Maori Affairs, Parekura Horomia Ngatikahu ki Whangaroa are based on the peninsula between the Mangonui and Whangaroa harbours in the Far North.

The Agreement in Principle covers all the claims of Ngatikahu ki Whangaroa including those related to the loss of land they suffered in the nineteenth century and the Crown's acquisition of land in the twentieth century.

"The signing signals that the claimant groups wish to move to resolve their historical grievances. By settling these claims we unlock resources which can be invested in our people and enable them to focus their considerable energy on charting a pathway forward for their communities, which I applaud," Mr Horomia said.

The settlement offer includes acknowledgements of, and a Crown apology for, the Crown's historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles, and the return of eleven Crown-owned sites of cultural and historical significance, including Stony Creek Station and the adjacent Thomson and Clarke Blocks, and the Stony Creek stock and plant.

"This is the fifth agreement in principle reached in the last six months and the third in two weeks. This is an extraordinary rate of progress".

The Kahukuraariki Trust Board will now have the opportunity to consult widely with the people before finalising a detailed deed of settlement. If ratified, the deed will be signed by both parties and implemented through legislation. I wish them well in concluding the final stages of the negotiations," Mr Horomia said.

He anga whakamua i ngā whiriwhiringa whakataunga Tiriti ki te Tai Tokerau ki runga

Hei tā te Minita mō ngā Take Māori, a Parekura Horomia, e tautoko ana ia i tēnei ahunga whakamua whakahira, te hainatanga i te Kirimini ā-Kaupapa, i te rangi nei, hei whakatau i te kerēme hītori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi, i waenga i a Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa me te Karauna.

Kei runga i te kūrae i waenganui i ngā whanga o Mangonui me Whangaroa, te haukāinga a Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa.

Kei roto i te Kirimini ā-Kaupapa ngā kerēme katoa a Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, tāpiri atu ki ērā e pā ana ki te ngaronga whenua i whakamamae i a rātou, i te rautau te kau mā iwa, me te rironga whenua ki te Karauna, i te rau tau rua te kau.

Hei tā Horomia,"He tohu te hainatanga nei i te hiahia a ngā rōpū kerēme kia neke ki te whakatau i a rātou pāmamae hītori. Mā te whakatau i ngā kerēme nei, ka whakawātea e mātou ngā rawa hei tuku atu ki a tātou iwi, kia kaha ai rātou ki te arotahi i a rātou raukaha nui tonu, hei whakarite huarahi whakamua mō a rātou hapori. Ka mihi ahau mō tēnei."

Kei roto i te tāpaetanga whakatau, ko te tautokotanga, me te whakapāha a te Karauna, mō ngā whatinga a te Karauna i te Tiriti o Waitangi me āna kaupapa, me te whakahokinga o ngā wāhi tapu, rongonui, te kau mā tahi, kei te Karauna e pupuri ana. Ko ētahi o ēnei wāhi ko te Teihana o Stony Creek, ngā Poraka a Thomson me Clarke kei tua tonu, ngā kararehe me ngā taputapu o Stony Creek.

"Koia nei te kirimini ā-kaupapa tuarima kua oti i roto i te ono wiki kua pahemo, me te tuatoru i roto i te rua wiki. He auau nekenga whakamua autaia rawa atu tēnei."

"Ka tau ki te Poari Kaitiaki o Kahukuraariki ināianei, te huarahi ki te kōrero whiriwhiri whānui ki te iwi I mua o te whakaotinga o tētahi pukapuka whakataunga āmiki. Mēnā ka tautokotia, ka hainatia e ngā rōpū e rua te pukapuka, hei reira ka whakamanatia mā raro i te ture. Ka mihi ahau kia rātou kia kaha tonu ki te whakatutuki i tēnei wāhanga mutunga o ngā whakawhitinga kōrero," e kī ana a Horomia.

ENDS

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