Iwi in the Eastern Bay of Plenty have voted to accept a $100-million settlement offer from the Crown, marking an end to nearly 30 years of negotiation.
The Whakatōhea iwi’s treaty settlement has been one of the longest running, with an initial $40-million offer rejected in 1996.
In the Crown’s current offer, accepted by the iwi this week, $100 million in compensation, 5000 ha of marine space, and the return of 6000 ha of land, were included.
A six-week election process ended last month, which resulted in sixty-seven percent of Whakatōhea members voting to accept the offer.
“We are pleased with the results, this is a great outcome for Whakatōhea. It has been a long journey from the first petition to the Crown in 1887, to now being at the point of settling our historical claims, most significantly the invasion and raupatu of our land 135 years ago,” Whakatōhea Pre-Settlement Claims Trust chair Graeme Riesterer told RNZ News.
Treaty settlements aim to compensate for breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840 by the British Crown and Māori, which covers the purchase and ownership of land.
During the second half of the 19th century, Māori lost control of much of the land they owned, violating the treaty. This occurred through unfair deals, through confiscation by the Government or by British settlers occupying land that had not been sold.
In the Ōpōtiki district, the government confiscated 144,000 ha of land, forcing tribes into poorly-resourced areas and creating conflict between iwi.
The Waitangi Tribunal described the Crown’s actions in Ōpōtiki as “among the worst Treaty breaches in this country’s history”.
The total value of all finalised settlements to date is just over $2 billion.
