KEY POINTS:
A Far North iwi which occupied a Landcorp farm to block its sale before a Treaty of Waitangi claim was heard is on the verge of getting the land back.
Ngati Kahu will today sign an agreement in principle with the Government under which it will eventually own the 3700ha Rangiputa Station.
Last year, when Landcorp, which farms the property for the Government, decided to sell 9ha of prime coastal land iwi members responded by occupying the station.
The land was loaned to missionaries on the understanding it would return to Ngati Kahu, but it was never returned.
The situation of state assets being sold in contested areas came to light last year when Landcorp also tried to sell land on the Coromandel Peninsula at Whenuakite.
Protest action by senior Hauraki kaumatua resulted in the Government setting new policy on what state-owned land could and could not be sold.
The Herald understands the agreement includes $14 million, but the deal is structured so that the iwi will have to use the money to buy back 8000ha of Crown land. Land which has been classified as "cultural" - 4000ha of it - will be given back for free.
Although the Government had valued Rangiputa Station at $40.2 million, the Herald understands that valuation has dropped to about $4 million.
Tribal sources said there would be no separate cash compensation outside of the $14 million but that wasn't such a high priority.
"We've focused on land, land, land stubbornly.
"In the end we've had to play this stupid game where they give us the money, so we give it back to them, so they can give us the land.
"But it's a way to move on."
A tribal leader said if Rangiputa and Whenuakite hadn't been occupied by iwi, the land which was lost to Maori once would have been lost forever because of the demand for coastal property.
"We have so little left that we will tend to fight.
"Once land is developed that's it. It's very hard to see a situation where it will be given back to Maori. So this is very significant for us."
The signing takes place at Kareponia Marae today but not everyone in the tribe is happy with the deal.
Tribal sources say they are expecting protests but they will be "managed" and the ceremony will go ahead.
The dispute:
Ngati Kahu loaned land to missionaries on the understanding it would be returned.
The land ended up with Landcorp, which runs farms for the Government, as Rangiputa Station.
Last year Landcorp tried to sell off 9ha of prime coastal land on the station.
Members of Ngati Kahu occupied the land, forcing the Government to change its policy on state-owned land sales.
The iwi will today receive a settlement, which gives them money to buy back the land.
