Turanga iwi settlement

Te Hau ki Turanga sits in Te Papa Tongarewa. Photo / Supplied

The Crown will apologise to a iwi over Treaty of Waitangi breaches, restore ownership of the historic Te Hau ki Turanga meeting house and pay $22 million under a settlement approved yesterday.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said a deed of settlement for claims with Rongowhakaata, one of three Turanga iwi, was initialled yesterday, signalling the end of substantive negotiations.

The Crown will apologise for the unjustified use of military force in Turanga, the detention without trial of Rongowhakaata prisoners on the Chatham Islands, the summary executions of prisoners at Ngatapa in 1869, and the effective confiscation of a large area of Rongowhakaata land.

The settlement includes redress of $22 million, plus interest since 2008, and the return of several Crown-owned properties in the Gisborne region.