KEY POINTS:
A settlement in the controversial Te Arawa claim has moved closer following a Court of Appeal decision released yesterday.
The court dismissed an appeal by the Federation of Maori Authorities (Foma) against the financial forestry redress package, which has also come under fire from other quarters within Maoridom.
Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa Trust represents 24,000 people (more than half of the confederation), but after signing off on a settlement last year its deal has been beset by cross-claimant hapu unhappy at the process, and upset at the commercial forestry deal the Crown struck with Te Pumautanga, which Waitangi Tribunal reports say prejudiced their interests.
Last week, that ill-feeling culminated in an urgent tribunal hearing where Te Pumautanga's forestry deal was put under the microscope.
Under the deal, accumulated Crown Forestry rental money on land handed back to Te Pumautanga was used to buy extra forestry blocks - taking the total package to 50,000ha.
However, accumulated rentals - thought to be worth more than $40 million - on the land Te Pumautanga will purchase will go to the Crown.
It's a deal that angered Foma which took the case to court because it said the Crown was riding roughshod over existing legislation.
In 1989 Foma signed an agreement with the Crown which said that the Waitangi Tribunal - not the Government - would determine who owned what pieces of forestry land.
They argued that the transfer of Crown forest lands without tribunal recommendations was in breach of that contract.
However, the Crown plans to pass legislation which will give the deal the same weight as if it had been through the tribunal process.
