By DANIEL JACKSON
Land and cash to the value of $15.6 million are part of an offer from the Crown to a Northland subtribe to redress Treaty of Waitangi grievances.
The settlement deal with Te Uri o Hau, a Ngati Whatua hapu, includes a crown apology for failing to preserve sufficient lands for the tribe, the return of some sacred sites and access to food gathering areas.
The commercial redress covers $15.6 million of land and cash as well as the right of first refusal to buy crown land that becomes surplus within 50 years of the passing of settlement legislation.
No private land is included in the settlement except for 0.5ha bought from a willing seller.
Representatives of the tribe met Treaty Settlements Minister Margaret Wilson at Parliament yesterday to initial a deed of settlement.
The deed, if ratified by the hapu's 6000 members, outlines how the Crown will redress breaches of its treaty obligations.
"This brings us within sight of settlement," Ms Wilson said.
"The historical evidence has proven that the Crown has acted in breach of its obligations and that redress is justified."
It is the first settlement initialled under the claims process for the Northland area and the first for the Labour-Alliance Coalition.
Te Uri o Hau is named after ancestor Haumoewaarangi. Its traditional area is in the northern Kaipara region between Wellsford and Dargaville.
The hapu was gradually alienated from its land over a long time, although little was taken from it by force.
Te Uri o Hau leaders will seek the approval of members for the settlement through a postal ballot and a series of hui next month.
If approved, the Crown and hapu will then sign a binding deed of settlement subject to approval by Parliament of settlement legislation.
The Waitangi Tribunal heard the claim in 1997 but instead of waiting for the finding, the hapu went into negotiations with the Crown in August last year.
One of the hapu's claim co-managers, Esther Gray, said the land originally under claim was about 120,000ha.
However, the Crown had made it clear that it could not compensate for the hapu's full loss.
But she believed Te Uri o Hau's members would accept the settlement as they needed to move forward and raise themselves from the negative statistics that Maori were caught in.
"It will take one whole generation to actually bring us right into line with the rest of the population."
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