Ngati Whatua signs Treaty deal

09/06/2006 16:32:03

A surprisingly cheap deal has been reached over a Waitangi Treaty claim covering significant parts of Auckland.

Central Auckland, Waitakere, North Shore, and Manukau were at the centre of the claim lodged by the Ngati Whatua O Orakei Maori Trust Board

The Government has made a cash payout of just $10 million over a claim that could have been valued at hundred of millions, or even billions, given Auckland property values.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Mark Burton says the process does not look at current commercial values. Instead it is an attempt to find an acceptable redress that recognizes wrongs of the past.

The Ngati Whatua O Orakei Maori Trust Board is to get title to One Tree Hill Domain, Mount Roskill, Purewa Creek, and part of Mount Eden as a part of the settlement. Public use of land handed over in an Auckland Waitangi Treaty settlement deal is being guaranteed by the Government.

Ngati Whatua is keen to highlight the potential in its Agreement in Principle with the Crown.

Sir Hugh Kawharu says the cash component is not large, but he says the deal must be considered in the context of the commercial property development capabilities it affords.

He says it gives Ngati Whatua right of first refusal on Crown properties as they come up for sale and adds that, although the size of the commercial redress does not bear a reasonable relationship to the value of the land lost, he accepts the Crown is constrained by its own settlement policies.

Sir Hugh says Ngati Whatua is now presented with the challenge of using the money and making wise investments which will go towards improving the health, education and housing of the hapu.