NEW ZEALAND: Largest Settlement Signed between Maoris and Government WELLINGTON -- Seven Maori tribes became New Zealand´s biggest forest owners on Wednesday in a multi-million-dollar compensation package from the government for past injustices under European rule.
The $319 million Treelords agreement will transfer ownership of 435,000 acres of plantation forest and forest rents from the central government to the central North Island tribes. Hundreds of Maori, some wearing traditional feather cloaks, thronged the nation´s Parliament in Wellington to witness the signing of the agreement. Chants, challenges and conch shell notes rang out during the ceremony; some wiped tears from their eyes during the speeches and signing. The seven tribes include more than 100,000 people. Here is the deal ´´It´s a historic journey we are on,´´ Prime Minister Helen Clark told the crowd. ´´We came into politics to address injustice and seek reconciliation. Thank you for walking that road with us on this historic day.´´ Treaty Negotiations Minister Michael Cullen said the transfer of the majority of forests held by the government in the region to the seven tribes meant the asset ´´will finally be utilized in the interests of local Maori.´´ ´´New Zealand is a lesser nation today as a result of the failure to uphold its obligations to so many generations of Maori,´´ Cullen said. ´´But all has not been lost.´´ He told Parliament the deal settled the tribes´ forest claims but that other grievances would be settled separately and would likely involve further redress payments by the government. Maori lands and forests were protected by the founding Treaty of Waitangi, signed with European settlers in 1840, but huge tracts of land were taken for settlement. Maori have been engaged in grievance claims since the early 1840s. Maori paramount chief Dr. Tumu te Heu Heu, chairman of the tribal collective, said their objective was to provide tribes with ´´a strong, durable and sustainable economic future,´´ particularly the youth and the coming generations. ´´This is our legacy to them,´´ he said. The tribes plan to set up joint asset holding and management structures to maximize the benefits from the future use of the lands and the plantation forests mainly as lumber. Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia said when the current settlement is completed the central North Island tribal collective would be New Zealand´s largest single land owner in the forestry sector and one of the industry´s largest investors. The previous largest settlement was the 1992 Sealord deal, which transferred nearly half the nation´s fish stocks to the Maori. The Treaty of Waitangi gave Maori ownership of the fisheries, but that was lost when the government introduced a strict fishing quota system in the 1980s. Sealord Group Ltd. is now the world´s sixth largest fishing company. Maori are among the nation´s poorest citizens, with low education and income levels, poor health and housing standards and higher numbers of unemployed. They make up more than half the country´s prison population. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iwi ´walks path´ to biggest ever Treaty settlement Maori wiped tears from their eyes at Parliament today as around half a billion dollars worth of forestry and assets was handed over to seven central North Island iwi. Treaty Negotiations Minister Michael Cullen told a packed Beehive Banquet Hall that it is a tragedy of the nation´s history that the Crown failed to uphold its part of the bargain, since the Treaty of Waitangi was signed 160 years ago. He says it failed to deliver on its obligations of partnership and respect and failed to deliver equality and protect the rights of Maori. Prime Minister Helen Clark is commending the efforts made by those in reaching the agreement, saying she and her colleagues came into politics to address injustice and effect reconciliation. She is thanking Maori for walking the path with them to reach today´s historic settlement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NZ - World Leader in Indigenous Reconciliation An historic deal between the New Zealand government and the indigenous people of the country -- the Maori -- was signed a few hours ago (June 25) in parliament, described by the deputy prime minister as the largest single step forward in the reconciliation process.
Dr Michael Cullen, who is also treaty negotiations minister, told Wellington´s Dominion Post newspaper the NZ$500 million (US$380 million) treaty settlement named Treelords after the 1990s fisheries deal which created the company Sealord would affect more than 100,000 people. Television New Zealand´s midday news reports the history-making deal was signed on behalf of the government by Dr Cullen, Maori Affairs Minister, Parekura Horomia, Cabinet Ministers Shane Jones and Mita Ririnui. Ngati Tuwharetoa Paramount Chief Tumu te Heuheu was the first among the signatories for the seven iwi - Ngai Tuhoe, Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Whare, Ngati Manawa, Ngati Raukawa and the Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu - in a packed Parliamentary Banquet Hall. Over 500 Maori representing the seven "iwi" came to parliament for the historic ceremony. Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia told the NZ Herald that when the deal was finalised, the central North Island collective of Maori would be the largest single land owner in the country´s massive forestry industry and also one of its biggest investors. Dr Cullen meanwhile told the herald that while the settlement was a major achievement that would impact positively on central North Island Maori and the region, it was also one that all New Zealanders would take benefit from.
He said today´s landmark event meant "iwi" represented in the collective would finally have a real opportunity to realise their full economic potential.
Updated 25.06.2008
Published by: Liv Inger Somby
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