Source: New Zealand Government
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little today welcomed Ngāti Hei to Parliament to witness the first reading of the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill.
Ngāti Hei trace their origins to Kupe, and Te Arawa waka. Their area of interest runs along the eastern seaboard of the Coromandel Peninsula from Onemana to Whangapoua, centered around Tairua and Ahuahu and includes offshore islands extending north to Cuvier Island. The 2018 Census estimates Ngāti Hei as having approximately 630 members.
“Today is a significant day for Ngāti Hei and the Crown having reached this significant milestone towards recognition of their historical Treaty of Waitangi claims,” Andrew Little said.
“Ngāti Hei hold a unique place in New Zealand history. In November 1769, Ngāti Hei hosted the first recorded pōwhiri for pākehā when their paramount chief Toawaka invited Captain Cook to the fortified pā Wharetāewa in Whitianga.
“Despite these positive beginnings, even before Te Tiriti ō Waitangi was signed, the negative effects of Pākeha settlement were felt by Ngāti Hei,” Andrew Little said.
Ngāti Hei’s historical grievances relate to the promotion of laws and policies that damaged the environment, severely undermined their wellbeing, left them virtually landless, and compromised their ability to pass mātauranga Māori to their mokopuna.
The settlement includes:
- financial and commercial redress of $8.5 million.
- cultural redress including the return of 15 sites of cultural significance to Ngāti Hei.
- protocols, relationship agreements and letters of introduction with a range of Crown agencies.
- enacting a Māori Land Court order to vest Ohinau Island in the Ngāti Hei governance entity.
“The settlement is grounded in the Crown’s acknowledgement of this history and The Crown’s apology for its breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi,” Andrew Little said.
“While no treaty settlement will ever be able to compensate Ngāti Hei for the true measure of loss they have suffered, it is my sincere hope that this settlement will provide a foundation for the cultural, social and economic future of Ngāti Hei to atone for these injustices.”
Notes to the editor:
- The Ngāti Hei Deed of Settlement is available here.
- The Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill can be found here
- Ngāti Hei is a member of the Pare Hauraki Collective and will also receive collective redress through the Pare Hauraki Collective Redress Deed.
Kua tutuki i te Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill te pānuitanga tuatahi
Nā te Minita mō ngā Take Tiriti o Waitangi, a Andrew Little, a Ngāti Hei i rāhiri i tēnei rā ki te Pāremata ki te mātakitaki i te pānuitanga tuatahitanga o te Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill.
Ka tātai a Ngāti Hei i tō rātou whakapapa ki a Kupe, me te waka o Te Arawa. E whai haere ana tō rātou wāhi whai pānga i te tai rāwhiti o Te Tara-o-te-Ika-a-Māui, atu i Onemana ki Whangapoua, ko Tairua me Ahuahu kei te pokapū, ā, whiti atu ki ētahi motu e toro ana ki Repanga i te raki. E ai ki te whakatau tata o te Tatauranga 2018 he 630 pea ngā tāngata o Ngāti Hei.
“He rā hira tēnei rā mō Ngāti Hei me te karauna kua tae ki tēnei tohu nui i te ara whakatutuki i ā rātou kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi nō mai rā anō,” te kī a Andrew Little.
“He tūranga ahurei tō Ngāti Hei i te hītori o Aotearoa. I te Noema 1769 ka tū i a Ngāti Hei te pōwhiri tuatahi i te Pākehā kua tuhia i te pōwhiringa a tō rātou ariki a Toawaka i a Kāpene Kuki ki te pā tūwatawata o Wharetāewa i Whitianga.
“Ahakoa ēnei tūtakitaki tuatahi i runga i te wairua pai, i mua rā anō i te hainatanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi, kua pāngia kētia e Ngāti Hei ngā pānga kino o te pūwhenuatanga Pākehā,” hei tā Andrew Little.
E pā ana ngā nawe mai anō o Ngāti Hei ki te whakamana i ngā ture me ngā kaupapahere i tūkino i te taiao, i tino whakararu i tō rātou toiora, i noho tata whenua kore ai rātou, ā, i whakamōrea i tō rātou kaha ki te tuku i te mātauranga Māori ki ā rātou mokopuna.
Kei roto i te whakaaetanga whakataunga:
- te puretumu ahumoni, arumoni hoki o te $8.5 miriona.
- te puretumu ahurea kei roto ko te whakahokinga mai o ngā wāhi ahurea whakahirahira 15 ki a Ngāti Hei.
- ngā kawa, ngā whakaaetanga hononga me ngā reta whakamōhio ki te whānuitanga o ngā tari Karauna.
- te whakatinana i tētahi whakatau a te Kōti Whenua Māori hei tuku i te motu o Ohinau ki raro i te hinonga mana urungi a Ngāti Hei.
“E noho tūāpapa ana ki tēnei whakaaetanga whakataunga te whakapāha a te Karauna mō taua hītori me te whakapāha a te Karauna mō ana takahitanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi,” te kī a Andrew Little.
“Ahakoa e kore rawa e rawaka te utu anō i Ngāti Hei mō te rahinga o ngā uauatanga kua pā ki a rātou, ko taku tino tūmanako nei, ka whakarato tēnei whakaaetanga whakatau i te tūāpapa e whakapakaritia ai te taha ahurea, pāpori me te ohaoha o Ngāti Hei ki anamata hei whakatikatikanga o aua hē,” ko te kī a Andrew Little.
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