The Māori Affairs Committee has opened for submissions on the Ahuriri Hapū Claims Settlement Bill. The legislation relates to a deed of settlement signed by the Crown and Ahuriri Hapū.

Ahuriri Hapū are based in and around Napier, in the Hawke’s Bay region. Their area of interest is bounded by the sea to the east, the Kaweka Range to the west, the Ngaruroro River to the south, and the Esk River to the north.

The bill proposes to:

· record the acknowledgements and apology given by the Crown to Ahuriri Hapū in a November 2016 deed of settlement

· give effect to the deed in which the Crown and Ahuriri Hapū agreed to a final settlement of all historical Treaty of Waitangi claims.

The historical claims of Ahuriri Hapū are significant and include widespread land loss through early land purchasing. This includes the 1851 Ahuriri purchase that saw the loss of half their rohe (territory).

Ahuriri Hapū also suffered loss through warfare and the subsequent detention of their men on the Chatham Islands, the Crown’s acquisition of Te Whanganui-ā-Orotu, and the effects of native land laws. Subsequent social and economic developments led to poverty within the iwi.

Tell the Māori Affairs Committee what you think

Make a submission on the bill by midnight 17 April 2020.

For more details about the bill:

· Read the full content of the bill

· Get more details about the bill

· What’s been said in Parliament about the bill?

· Follow the committee’s Facebook page for updates

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