The Green Party is today congratulating three Taranaki iwi on the passing of the their Treaty settlement bills.
The Green Party is today congratulating three Taranaki iwi on the passing of the their Treaty settlement bills.
The three iwi, Ngāruahine, Te Ātiawa and Taranaki Tuturu, today had the third readings of the bills that give legislative effect to their settlements to address the historical injustices inflicted on their people.
“The Green Party sends our aroha and congratulations to Ngāruahine, Te Ātiawa and Taranaki Tuturu on this incredibly significant day for all descendants of Mounga Taranaki,” Green Party Māori development spokesperson Marama Davidson said.
“The Taranaki rohe has been severely affected by confiscation, land loss and war. All of the land of Te Ātiawa and Taranaki Tuturu – millions of acres – was confiscated by the stroke of a pen.
“I acknowledge the extraordinary generosity of Taranaki for accepting these deals, and their patience and grace in getting to this final point in the process.
“Not only has this been a decades-long struggle for resolution, in which many of the claimants, kuia and kaumatua have already passed on, but even at the last minute the Crown moved the goalposts and shifted the date for the third reading.
“The Greens recognise Treaty settlement process for what it is: an opportunity for iwi Māori, under the pressure of economic and social hardship and within the constraints of a Crown-imposed process, to make the best deal possible to re-establish a small economic base for their people.
“We have always believed that Treaty settlements are not full and final, and should be able to be revisited by future generations. We don’t want Te Tiriti settled, we want Te Tiriti truly honoured and implemented at every level of government.
“I mihi to the enduring mana and rangatiratanga of Taranaki iwi. According to the kōrero of Taranaki Tuturu ‘e kore e pau te ika unahi nui’ – ‘we will never be overcome, we are like the scales of a great fish’,” Ms Davidson said.
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