DEED OF SETTLEMENT SIGNED WITH NGATI WHATUA O KAIPARA AT AOTEA/ SHELLY BEACH

Good things are happening this week in Tamaki Makaurau (Auckland, The Super City) as history is being made anew.

Via Chris Finlayson‘s web page: “The Crown signed a Deed of Settlement to settle Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara’s historical Treaty of Waitangi claims at Aotea/Shelley Beach today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson announced.

The Deed was signed at a ceremony at Aotea/Shelly Beach on the shores of the Kaipara Harbour. The Crown was represented by Mr Finlayson and Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples.

“Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara lost virtually all of their land, which had devastating consequences for their social, cultural, spiritual and physical wellbeing,” Dr Sharples said. “Those consequences are still felt today.”

Components of the settlement include commercial and financial redress worth $22.1 million, including the transfer of Woodhill Forest. Cultural redress includes the return of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara’s ancestral mountain, Atuanui/Mount Auckland, and eight other significant sites.

The Crown and Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara initialled a draft Deed of Settlement on 24 June 2011, which was then ratified by the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara claimant community with support of over 90%.

“Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara has a long tradition of commitment to and support for the Crown, dating back to the signing of the Treaty,” Mr Finlayson said. “This relationship flourished for a while but in time the Crown’s actions fell short of the promises made in the Treaty. This settlement will breathe new life into the relationship between us, to the benefit of all New Zealand.”

“Today’s signing also shows the progress being made towards resolving historical grievances in the greater Auckland region, which accounts for around a third of all remaining Treaty settlements. It is also a result of the greater momentum in settling claims towards the Government’s aspirational target of settling historical claims by 2014.”

[Photo - Ngati Whatua o Kaipara, phone photos and archives]