Ngāti Hāua Treaty settlement begins journey through Parliament

Ngāti Hāua's deed of settlement, Te Pua o te Riri Kore, was signed at Ngāpūwaiwaha Marae in Taumarunui on March 29. Photo / Moana Ellis

The Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill will be introduced to Parliament this week, marking the beginning of the process to enact the central North Island tribe’s treaty settlement.

A small delegation of tribal members will travel to Wellington on behalf of Ngāti Hāua to attend the first reading of the bill on Thursday.

The bill will then be referred to the Māori Affairs Select Committee to review any submissions from the public, make any recommendations and report back to the House of Representatives.

“We anticipate that our bill will reach the third and final reading in Parliament in early to mid-2026, and our Treaty settlement will then come into effect,” pou Tiriti/Treaty project manager Aaron Rice-Edwards said.

“All whānau will be invited to attend the third reading, and we are preparing for this at the moment.”

Following the third reading, the bill will go to the Governor General to obtain a Royal Assent to become legislation, becoming the Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Act.

Once legislation has been enacted, the settlement assets including lands and cash will transfer to the tribe’s post-settlement governance entity.

The redress package includes:

• $20.4 million of financial redress.
• A $6m cultural revitalisation fund.
• The return of 64 culturally significant sites.

They include places such as Makakote Pā, the pā of the famed fighting chief Tōpine te Mamaku; the lands at Ngā Huinga, where the Whanganui and Taringamotu Rivers meet; and Hikurangi maunga, which Ngāti Hāua will look after alongside its Maniapoto relations.

Ngāti Hāua Iwi Trust obtained a mandate from the iwi in 2017 to negotiate a Treaty settlement with the Crown, signing an agreement in principle in 2022 and initialling a deed of settlement in 2024.

The deed of settlement, Te Pua o te Riri Kore, was signed at Ngāpūwaiwaha Marae in Taumarunui on March 29 this year.

The iwi’s post-settlement work will begin in 2026.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.