Hon Te Ururoa Flavell
Te Minita Whanaketanga Māori
Minister for Māori Development
25 May 2016 Media Statement
Rebuild Can Begin for Ngāti Hineuru and Ngāi Te Rangi/Ngā Pōtiki
Rebuild Can Begin for Ngāti Hineuru and Ngāi Te Rangi/Ngā Pōtiki
Minister of Māori Development Te Ururoa Flavell said today that two iwi who were virtually stripped of all their lands
could now start to rebuild culturally, environmentally and economically.
His comments followed the second reading of the Ngāti Hineuru Claims Settlement Bill and the first reading of the Ngāi
Te Rangi and Ngā Pōtiki Claims Settlement Bill in Parliament today.
Mr Flavell said in both cases the Crown had committed serious and repeated failures to live up to its Treaty
obligations; and Crown initiated conflict had virtually stripped the iwi of their lands, leaving only a tiny remnant of
what they once held.
“Any resistance led to huge land confiscations and for Ngāti Hineuru many of those who resisted the Crown's
confiscations were banished or summarily executed.
“For Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngā Pōtiki, Crown purchases and the compulsory acquisition of ‘uneconomic’ interests, as well as
public works takings had inflicted massive harm on the mana, identity, way of life, and economic and social wellbeing of
the iwi.”
Minister Flavell said both settlements recognised the mana of the iwi and reaffirmed their rights over their lands. The
redress helped heal the pain of the past by setting the record straight regarding the iwi and their history with the
Crown as well as the injustices suffered by their people.
“Through cultural redress the people of both iwi are reconnected with a number of their most culturally significant
sites, whilst financial and commercial redress reasserts their role in their region and provides a strong economic base
for them to grow.”
“Today represents the beginning of a brighter future for Ngāti Hineuru and Ngāi Te Rangi and shaping the world they want
their mokopuna to inherit. It is testament to the mana of the iwi in moving beyond grievance and into development and
growth.”
Ngāti Hineuru, an iwi of the Te Hāroto region on the Napier to Taupō Road, suffered a loss of land and mana after Crown
attacks on the tribe at Ōmarunui and near Pētane in 1866, during which its rangatira Te Rangihīroa was killed.
The historical claims of Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngā Pōtiki primarily relate to the Crown initiated military conflict in
Tauranga in 1864 and the ensuing confiscation/raupatu as well as the imposition of the native land laws in Tauranga
Moana, Crown purchasing methods in the Tauranga District in the 1880s and 1890s, the compulsory acquisition of land and
major public works takings.
ENDS