The Ahuriri Hapu Claims Settlement Bill, stemming from claims to the Waitangi Tribunal dealing with Napier area land and resource grievances dating 170 years, is due to be passed into law after a Third Reading in Parliament tomorrow .
Claims relate to Crown actions in and after the signing of the Ahuriri Purchase with Maori chiefs in November 1851, and includes WAI55, which was lodged 33 years ago and relates to Te Whanganui a Orotu, the once-expansive inland waterway from which Napier emerged in land reclamations and the 1931 Hawke's Bay Earthquake.
Government accepted the mandate of Mana Ahuriri as the post-settlement governance and a Deed of Settlement was signed on November 2, 2016.
Despite concerns raised by some members about the mandating and other processes, the reading is expected to enact the Bill, but with the pandemic limiting settlement hapu Ngāti Hinepare, Ngāti Māhu, Ngāti Paarau, Ngāti Tū, Ngai Te Ruruku, Ngai Tawhao and Ngāti Matepū to just 50 representatives in Parliament's public gallery.
